


Sioux Falls – Summer

by Dash



Series: Sioux Falls [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brotherly Affection, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Dean Winchester is Sam Winchester's Parent, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Season/Series 01, Protective Dean Winchester, Teen Dean Winchester, Teen Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-12-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 71,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27767476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dash/pseuds/Dash
Summary: Following John’s death in Sioux Falls – Year One, Dean and Sam enjoy a fun filled summer of hunting, friends, and helping around Bobby’s as they process and work through John’s death the prior November.   This story picks up within days of Sioux Falls - Year One’s ending and will cover May - August 1997.An alternative look at how their lives and paths might have been altered and relationship with Bobby deepened after John’s death.
Series: Sioux Falls [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2031304
Comments: 13
Kudos: 19





	1. Chapter One: May

**Author's Note:**

> While I’ve tried to stick to established Canon, I’ve expanded and interpreted some the Canon comments to tweak the timeline slightly. This is primarily focused on how John handled Mary’s death and when he began hunting, truly went off the deep end, and when he and the boys hit the road permanently. 
> 
> In “1.09 Home”, it’s clearly established that the house did not burn down and stated that John and the boys lived with his business partner Mike & Kate Guenther immediately after the fire. Given the timing of the fire (shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday), I imagine John and the boys living with Mike and his wife through Christmas and the house was fixed/rebuilt within a few months. Even as driven and obsessed as John was, I picture the descent into true … obsession being a slow, methodical process that took a couple of years. This could be evidenced in the fact that Mike, the business partner, seems to have had multiple conversations with John after Mary’s death and witnessed the gradual buildup of the obsession and unraveling of his friend’s typical, normal, middle class American family life. If nothing else, the sheer fact that Sam was an infant when Mary died, would make hitting the road immediately all but impossible. 
> 
> In a deleted scene from “Home”, Mike tells Sam & Dean that “he reported John and how he was taking care of those boys” several times to Child Protective Services. Given their friendship, what John had been through, and the pass that a father in the early ‘80s would have been given from his friends in how he was taking care of his kids (this was firmly in the age of Dads being perceived as knowing almost nothing and not expected to know much about their young children), I figure Mary had been gone for a while before CPS was called. Friends would have done anything and everything else to help before getting the authorities involved. I picture John simply selling his half of the business to Mike (maybe in a fit of anger), quietly selling the house for quick cash, and packing up the summer Sam turned 3 and Dean was 7 and just disappearing. In “Home”, Mike calls it the Winchester Disappearance and implies there was at least some sort of initial police investigation. 
> 
> Also, please note that, just like in the first story, Dean does spank Sam a couple of times in this story. It’s not long, over the top, or abusive, imo. I decided NOT to add a spanking tag because … if you are looking for ‘spanking stories’, you will be disappointed. If you are anti-spanking, it will be easy to skip those few paragraphs. With over 70,000 words, I figured the less than 1,000 that involve spanking doesn’t make this a spanking story. Not that there’s anything wrong with that … since that’s clearly what I’ve written before! It’s just not this story.

May 1997

“Just dump all your clothes in your hamper,” Dean said, walking into the kitchen Tuesday afternoon after getting home from their graduation celebration camping trip. “We’ll sort everything out tomorrow and do laundry then. I’m tired and don’t want to deal with it tonight.”

Sam nodded, pausing at the bottom of the stairs with his duffle bag, “OK. Is Bobby staying for dinner?”

“No, so come down when you’re done and say bye to him and we’ll see him in a couple of days,” he said, tiredly dropping his own duffle on the floor by the kitchen island before heading back into the garage to help finish unloading their stuff from the truck.

Bobby handed him a cooler and smiled, “I’ll hang on to the weapons and salt but you can have the marshmallows and left over food.” 

Dean laughed, “Thanks.”

Carrying another bag of supplies into the kitchen, Bobby put it on the floor near Dean’s duffle and grinned as Sam came back down the stairs. He pulled the younger boy into a hug, “See you in a couple of days, kid.”

Hugging him back, Sam nodded, “Thanks again! It was so much fun and you were right, Cold Springs was the perfect town. Maybe we can do another one in a few weeks and hunt at night and maybe see some of the female ghosts?”

Biting back a laugh, Dean said, “We’ll talk about it and see what everyone’s schedule is like.” He grinned, adding, “You have four books to read and write reports on and that family history project to do for your American History class and like 12 weeks in the summer. Maybe we’ll go hunting each time you finish a book?” Bumping against the younger boy as he passed him in the kitchen, he said “How’s that for a reward?”

Sam made a face, “I just got done with school! I don’t even want to think about it yet, Dean!”

“Maybe get them all done in the next few weeks so you don’t even have to think about it,” Bobby suggested and then laughed at Sam’s expression, holding up his hands. “Or maybe not … I’m sure between the two of you, you’ll figure it out. Just make sure you don’t forget about it or leave it to the last minute.”

“Yeah,” Sam said, sighing. Shooting his brother a glare, he sighed again, “Like I’d even be able to forget about it.”

Dean laughed, “That’s right.” Allowing himself to be pulled into a hug by Bobby, he said, “Thanks again. It was a great weekend.” Then adding in a quieter voice, “And I appreciate you listening.”

“Of course, kid, any time,” he said, squeezing him again. “I’m off but I’ll see you boys in a few days.”

“Why don’t you follow Bobby out and get the mail, Sam,” Dean said, nodding toward the garage. “This way you can shut the garage door on the way back in.”

He nodded, “OK.”

Putting the drinks and small bit of leftover food away in the fridge, Dean pressed the button to their answering machine and grinned as a girl’s voice started.

“Hi, this is Kimberly Matthis for Dean … we met at Chili’s a couple of days ago, on Friday, and he said to give him a call … so if you could have him call me back, I’d appreciate it. Thanks!”

Jotting down the number she left, he grinned at the idea of a fun casual fling for the summer. Nice, easy, no risk of awkwardness with shared classes looming in the fall … perfect, he decided.

“Was that the girl from Chili’s?” Sam asked, coming back into the house and hearing the last of the message his brother was replaying to double check the phone number before deleting the message. “Mail’s not here yet.”

Dean grinned, “Ok and yep, that was her. She seemed nice.”

“And she was pretty!” Sam said, nodding. “Ray thought she was much prettier than Justin’s girlfriend.”

He laughed, “Well, that’s a ringing endorsement.” He glanced at the clock and said, “Can you entertain yourself for a bit so I can call her back? It’s too early to look at dinner.”

Rolling his eyes, he said, “I don’t need to be entertained like a kid, Dean!”

He laughed, reaching out and grabbing his brother and ruffling his hair, “OK then, squirt, go play in traffic while I call her.”

Sam laughed, jerking away, grinning. “I’m going to go water the vegetables so I don’t have to listen to your flirting skills.”

Going into the living room, he grabbed the phone and flopped down on the couch, dialing the number. “Hi, is Kimberly there, please?” he asked when a woman picked up the line.

Opening the patio door quietly 15 minutes later, Sam made a face as his brother grinned at him from his position on the couch. “I’m going to go ride my bike,” he whispered, motioning toward the garage.

Dean nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. Holding up five fingers, he tapped his wrist and eyed his brother. 

Holding up six fingers, Sam grinned, doing a quick praying gesture with his hands.

He rolled his eyes before smiling back and nodding.

Sam grinned, nodding and waving bye.

Winking at him, he turned his attention back to the phone call and the girl’s laughing story about her best friend’s graduation pool party that weekend. 

“You had a trip with your family, right?” she asked as she finished her story. “What did you all do?”

“Camping over in the Badlands,” he said. “Hiking around, looking at dinosaur fossils and the stars, it was fun and we stayed at some cabins there so not really roughing it camping but we roasted marshmallows and hot dogs over the campfire. I work Saturday mornings, so we left right after that and got back about an hour ago.”

She giggled, “And called me almost right away?”

“Of course!” He laughed, “I didn’t want to risk you making other plans this week or forgetting about me.”

“Little danger of either one of those, Dean. I work Friday nights, most of Saturday, and on and off during the week,” she said. “The rest of the time, I’m just hanging out with friends this summer. Got anything in mind?”

Hanging up the phone with plans for Thursday evening, he grinned, enjoying the familiar thrill of excitement and interest in his system again. She seemed nice, easy going, and hopefully drama free after the issues with Jen. Dialing the phone again, he said, “Hey Bobby.”

The other man laughed, “I just left you boys barely two hours ago. I swear, it’s never ending …”

Dean laughed, “Yeah, yeah, that’s us, so demanding!”

“So, what can I do for you?” he asked, giving a fake put upon sigh.

“Speaking of demanding …” he said, and then laughed as the older man groaned dramatically. “Kimberly, the girl I was telling you about that I met last week, called me and I have a date on Thursday night …” 

Bobby chuckled, “Good for you! I was hoping you’d hear from her. Do you want me to keep Sam company Thursday night?” 

“Do you mind? Either here or I can drop him off,” he said. “I know it’s stupid and he hates me worrying but I do, especially when I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

“Not at all,” Bobby confirmed. “And you may not know exactly when you’ll be back, but I know when you’ll be back by.”

He sighed, frowning, “Really, Bobby?”

“I’m not sure what you think has changed,” he said calmly. “Midnight is a perfectly acceptable curfew. Just like you worry about Sam, I worry about you. I feel better knowing that you’re home at a certain time and then I can go to bed. You don’t think I’d worry if I didn’t know where you were at 2:00 … 3:00 in the morning?” He paused, letting his words sink in before adding, “We’ve talked about this, Dean.”

“I know,” he said quietly, “and I get it.” Laughing, he added, “I’m not sure I agree, but I get it.”

“Good, you don’t have to agree, you just have to do,” Bobby said. “Bring the kid over here sometime on Thursday and then I’ll bring him back to you Friday. How’s that sound?”

He nodded, “Perfect, thank you.” Hanging up the phone a minute later, he leaned his head back on the cushions and closed his eyes, trying hard not to feel the weight of changes and restrictions pressing down on him. The actual reality of being out past midnight had lost all appeal with how busy his days were now, but the idea of it being a requirement and of someone waiting for his call also made him resentful of the invisible constraints and restrictions. Yawning, he forced himself up and off the couch and to ease the almost constant sense of guilt over not taking advantage of the free time he had to get something accomplished. 

Two hours later, he glanced up from the pile of laundry he was folding and toward the front of the house as the sound of the mail truck filtered through the open windows. Dropping the folded underwear and socks into the basket, he went out to grab the mail. “Hi Bob,” he said, walking out of the still open garage and seeing their neighbor in his own driveway. 

“Hey Dean,” Bob the next door neighbor called out, looking up from rinsing his car. Nodding toward the newly washed car, he said, “Took the afternoon off to meet the plumber and figured I’d be productive at least.” He grinned, adding, “Not that our Accord can really hold a candle to your car.” He laughed as Dean grinned at him, before asking, “Did you guys have a good trip? Sam said you were going camping, I think?”

Walking over, he nodded, always aware of presenting a good adult front and making nice with the neighbors, “Yeah. It was great. Sam, our uncle, and I headed over to the Badlands National Park and camped there and did some hiking on their trails. They have these cool dinosaur fossils along some of the paths that you can see and even hunt for some of these small little … things in a few areas. We didn’t find any and ended up spending $15 in some gift shop to get one.” He smiled, adding, “Sam picked out a tooth from some big rat like creature.”

Bob laughed, “Sounds about right. Sherry and I do the same thing when we go to Mexico every year, look for pretty shells, don’t find anything too cool, end up buying something on the last day.”

Glancing at the newly planted flowers by the front door, Dean said, “Flowers look pretty. I guess it’s safe to plant now? We were talking about when to do that and I figured I’d take my cue from what you and Sherry did.”

He nodded, glancing at the bright annuals. “The rule of thumb around here seems to be Memorial Day or later, so your timing is perfect. We got those at the nursery down off 26th, just past 229. Great selection, local place, and there’s always plenty of people around if you have questions.” He grinned, “You want stuff for full sun with maybe some afternoon shade.”

Dean laughed, “Thanks! This is all new for us but we have the new planters and got to keep up with the Jones.” He grinned, “Or at least the Lowes!”

Bob laughed, “That’s all Sherry’s doing. If it was up to me, you’d be keeping up with dirt, maybe mulch piles. I’m just the tote and carry and digging holes-guy.” He smiled, pointing to a large bunch of daisies planted at the corner of the house, “Except for those. My mom’s name was Daisy and she loved them, so I make sure we plant some, every year, in her memory.”

“Oh, that’s great,” Dean said, nodding. “That’s really nice.”

The other man paused for a minute, silently wondering if the younger man would bring up his own mother or parents. The neighbors had all been curious and the small tidbits of confirmed information about ‘The Boys’, as they were collectively known, had been passed around like golden crumbs, letting conjecture run wild. When nothing further was added, he asked, “Big plans for the summer?”

Dean took a deep breath, pulling him back to the present situation and shrugged. “Not really sure. Sam’s out of school, obviously, so I’m not working this summer except on Saturday mornings at the Farmers’ Market. A family friend has a stall there and I’m helping him.” Grinning he added, “If you hear any wild and crazy parties going on Saturday mornings, any time after 7:00, please let me know.”

Bob laughed, “Will do.”

Glancing at his watch, Dean frowned when he saw it was just after 6:00. 

“Sam late?”

Dean laughed, “Yeah. He was supposed to be home by 6:00.” Taking a couple of steps closer to the street, he looked up and down it and didn’t see his brother. He shrugged, trying to appear unconcerned. “He’ll show up eventually. What about you guys? Going someplace for the summer?” he asked, walking back up the driveway.

He nodded “Boston at the end of June to see her folks for a couple of days and then we rent a house with some friends in Cape Cod for another few days.”

“If you want, we’ll keep an eye on the place while you’re gone, pick up the mail and newspapers, water the flowers,” he offered. “Just let me know when and I’ll put Sam to work.”

“That would be, great, thanks!” Glancing at the street, he nodded, “And, speak of the devil…”

Glancing at the street, Dean smiled at the sight of his brother peddling hard before slowing slightly and turning into the driveway with a grin. “Grab the mail, please,” he called out. Shaking his head slightly at his neighbor, he said, “Not too late.”

Bob laughed, “No, not at all. Hey Sam.”

Sam smiled, coming up the driveway carrying the little bit of mail they received and slightly out of breath, “Hi Mr. Lowe. How are you?”

“I’m good. You were peddling pretty hard there.”

Glancing at Dean, he laughed, “Yeah, I didn’t want to be late and we ended up at the far end of McKennan Park and the tennis courts.”

“Let’s go, we need to figure out dinner,” he said, waving toward the garage. Turning to their neighbor, he said, “Good talking to you and don’t forget to let us know about June’s trip so we can help out.”

“Will do, thanks!” he said, watching them walk into the garage. He saw Sam say something to his brother and then heard him giggle, laughing in protest to something before the garage door closed, cutting off his view. Smiling, he rolled up the hose and shook his head. He and his wife had been slightly apprehensive when they saw the older black muscle car in the driveway and then even more so when it became clear that the only two inhabitants of the house were a young man in his early to mid-20s and a kid. They had both pictured loud music, lots of visitors at all hours, house parties, and an unkempt yard and had been surprised and then thrilled when none of that happened and the new neighbors were quiet, respectful, and generally nice. 

Pressing the button to close the garage door, Dean said, “What time were you supposed to be home, Sam?”

He smiled, “6:00 and I was close!”

Grabbing his brother, Dean tickled him, “And does close count, Sammy boy?”

Sam giggled, laughing and trying to twist away, “Stop it, Dean! And yes, close counts!” He laughed again as his brother squeezed him hard, spinning him slightly through the open kitchen door, “I would have been home on time if I hadn’t had to stop at all the stop signs!”

Dean swatted him on the butt before kissing him on the top of the head, “You better be stopping at the stop signs.” Letting him go, he smiled, shaking his head, “All the stop signs … as if that’s an excuse.”

He smiled and shrugged, “It’s true!” Following his brother into the kitchen, he kicked off his shoes and tossed them back into the laundry room. “What’s for dinner?” he asked, pouring a glass of water.

Opening the refrigerator door, he studied the food in there. He had gone shopping on Friday for basics and food for the trip and they could certainly cobble something together but he was suddenly not in the mood to deal with it. “Can I convince you to eat frozen pizza tonight for dinner?” he asked, knowing they had one in the freezer and his brother was always up for pizza.

Sam grinned, “Can I convince you to cook it first?”

Dean laughed, “If you insist. Go upstairs and wash your face and change, you’re all sweaty, and then come back down and we’ll cook and watch some tv.”

“Want me to help?” Sam asked, coming back downstairs 10 minutes later.

Dean smiled, “We need to make up a To Do list for the week because we have several things to get started on and I don’t want to forget anything. You can either write that out and write out the menu or do the pizza. What do you want to do?”

“Pizza,” Sam said firmly, “for sure.”

“OK,” he said. “And, I have a date Thursday night, so you’re going to have dinner with Bobby and spend the night there.”

Sam looked at him and smiled before asking, “With the Chili’s Girl? What are you going to do? Can I spend the night at Jason’s or Ray’s instead?”

“Yes, with Kimberly and no, not on short notice and not on a school night,” he said, shaking his head. Holding up a hand at his brother’s start of a protest, “I know it’s not a school night for you but their parents work and having an extra kid underfoot with such short notice isn’t fair. We’ll look at sleep overs next week, once everyone has had time to get their summer routines in order or if you want to do stuff doing the week, do it here since I’m home. OK?”

He nodded, making a small face but also knowing that pushing back would get him nowhere good. “What are you going to do Thursday night?” he asked, leaning on the counter. 

“Dinner and then there’s an outdoor movie set up at one of the parks by the river that does movies Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays,” he said. “We need to swing by Walmart to get some low chairs and if it’s fun, maybe you and I can go next week. How’s that sound?”

Sam grinned, nodding, “Yeah! I’ve never gone to movies outside before except that drive-thru we went to a few years ago and that was fun!” 

“We’ll add it to the list then,” he said. Grabbing a spiral notebook from one of the drawers, he leaned against the counter next to Sam, bumping him gently and asked, “Any suggestions for dinners this week? I bought some chicken and ground beef on Friday and put it in the freezer so we just need to pull out what we want to cook. Maybe tacos tomorrow night? I’m sure you’ll have burgers with Bobby.”

“Oh yeah, tacos are good,” he said, nodding, bumping him back with a smile. Standing up, he pulled the pizza box from the freezer. “How about those chicken sandwiches with pineapple? I love pineapple and we have swiss cheese and marinade already.”

Dean nodded, “How about tacos with corn chips instead of shells, more like nachos? We can finish up the chips with the sandwiches.” Half watching Sam get the pizza ready to put in the oven, he checked the pantry and finished up the list. “We can get all this at Walmart when we get the chairs tomorrow. Do you need anything else while we’re there? Socks? Underwear?”

Sam shrugged, “I don’t know.” 

Suppressing a sigh, he nodded, “OK. I did our load of whites while you were out galivanting around the neighborhood this afternoon. When you put your stuff away, will you look for me and let me know?”

Sam laughed, “Galivanting?”

Dean laughed, nodding, “Yes, galivanting! That’s you, Sammy, a galivantor! And will you also, please, be a galivantor who checks to make sure he has enough underwear and socks before tomorrow?” 

He laughed and nodded, “Sure, I can’t be out galivanting without underwear.”

“Not comfortably, at least!” Shaking his head as his brother laughed again, he jotted down a few other basics on their list to pick up and a note about the possibly needed underwear and socks. “OK, so we’re set menu wise. How’s the pizza coming? The oven looks like it’s preheated.”

Putting the last of the extra pepperoni on it and sprinkling seasoning, Sam nodded, “And I’m done too.”

“Looks good,” he confirmed, going around to the other side of the counter and opening the oven door. “While that’s cooking, go grab your summer reading list stuff and the details for that American History class project and let’s get that nailed down. We’ll stop at one of the used bookstores tomorrow and see what they have and then Barnes & Noble, if we have to.”

Sam rolled his eyes, “Dean… summer just started! I’ve been out of school for like a day!”

“So you should still be in school mode and not gotten summer brain damage yet,” he countered with a smile. Nodding toward the hall and the office where he had put their backpacks and school supplies Friday night, he said, “Go on, let’s get this settled and done so we don’t have to think about it for a while.” Ignoring his brother’s sigh, he brought the notebook down to the table and flipped to a new page. As he had found all year, ignoring Sam’s sighs and rolled eyes worked well to keep the peace, as long as the protests didn’t go on too long and the work was still done.

Pulling out a chair at the table a minute later, he sat down heavily and pushed the papers toward his brother. “Here,” he said with a frown and a frustrated tone.

“No,” Dean said firmly, not picking up the papers. “Read it to me; you need to read four books, right?” 

“Yeah,” he said before falling silent again.

Nudging his brother with his foot, Dean tried again, “Come on, Sam. Let’s do this and we’ll get it done and then not have to think about it for a week or so.

Sam frowned again, shaking his head before laying it on his crossed arms on the table. “I’m tired of school and I don’t even want to think about it,” he said quietly. “Can we please just not … anything for a couple of days? I’ll do it this weekend, I promise.”

Remembering the endless pushing and demands that their dad imposed on them both and how Sam usually simply caved under the pressure, Dean smiled at him and shifted gears, unwilling to wage war over something so minor right now. “Not in the mood tonight, huh?” he asked quietly, pushing aside the notebook. Leaning over, he cupped his brother’s head with his hand and gave it a gentle shake. “Is this still full from school last week?”

He nodded and sighed again, closing his eyes for a moment before saying in a quiet voice, “Yeah.”

Standing up, Dean smiled, holding out his hand, “OK, then let’s just forget it tonight, Sammy. Come sit on the couch with me and we’ll watch the news or some tv and just relax. How’s that sound? Pizza will be ready in about 15 minutes.” Pulling his brother up, he ruffled his hair, “And how can I resist that great looking pizza you put together?”

Sam smiled, “You can’t.” Sitting down on the sofa a minute later, he leaned against Dean slightly and sighed before beginning to flip through the channels, looking for something to watch. “Oh! Mrs. Doubtfire!” he said a minute later, settling on one of the channels. “This was funny.” Twisting slightly, he said, “What about this?”

He nodded, “Sure, that’s good. Robin Williams is always a good choice.” Feeling Sam lean more against him, he moved his arm and put his feet up on the coffee table, smiling as his brother did the same and settled in closer. Leaning over, he kissed the top of his brother’s head, saying softly, “I’m sorry I pushed about your reading list, Sam. I get caught up on getting stuff done and not letting anything slip through the cracks.”

Nodding, Sam said, “It’s OK and I get it but you do a great job and I’m sorry I was a jerk about it. I promise, I’ll read everything first thing in the morning and we can go shopping tomorrow. It was such a fun weekend and then I had fun today with my bike and I met up with some guys from school and we were jumping with ramps and stuff, I don’t even want to think about school yet.” 

He shook his head, “Don’t worry about it. You’re right, school just got out last week. We’ll just have fun this week and not worry about anything for school until the weekend. OK?” Settling against the sofa, he forced himself not to think about how badly bikes, ramps, and jumping could go and the reaction he’d get if he suggested a helmet.

Sam smiled, “Thanks Dean!” Nudging his brother, he added, “But we still have to go to Walmart tomorrow for chairs for your date on Thursday!”

“Damn straight we do!” he agreed, smiling and laughing as his brother giggled. “Can’t impress girls by making them sit on the ground, can we?”

“No,” he agreed and then sighed, leaning in closer and yawning again. “When are we going on another hunt?” he asked a minute later. 

Dean laughed, “We literally just got home, dude!”

Sam smiled, “Yeah but I had a lot of fun and so did you … right?”

He nodded, “I did and we’ll go again soon, I promise. We’ll look at the calendar this week and map stuff out so we have plenty of time for fun and plenty of time to get your work done, too. Plus, you have soccer camp in July, right?”

Sam smiled, “Yeah!” Twisting to look at his brother, he said quickly, “Oh and hey! Bobby was telling me about werewolves this weekend when he and I were watching the sunrise and I looked it up and there’s a full moon on June 20th and July 19th. Can we go out then and maybe find one?”

Dean stared at him for a moment before shaking his head. “I think that might be a bit too advanced for you right now. Maybe next summer or the summer after. Dad didn’t take me hunting a werewolf until I was 16 and I’ve only done it a few times.”

“So?” he said, shrugging. “You can do it; you know how to do it.”

“Yes…,” he said slowly. “I know how to kill one but that doesn’t mean you’re ready and I don’t think I’m ready to take just you … maybe if Bobby was coming or Bobby and maybe another trusted friend, so I’ve got back up.” He studied his brother for a second before saying, “They’re dangerous Sam and if you get bitten, it’s a death sentence. It’s not something to take lightly.”

He shrugged, seemingly less than impressed with the potential danger. “We can handle it. You’re great and I’m already 14 and a good shot. You’ve said so yourself. If there’s a werewolf, we should kill it because it kills people.” Smiling slightly, he said, “That’s what we do. Bobby said they’re really dangerous.”

“We’ll talk about it and I’d like to point out that you’ve been 14 less than a month and 14 is two years younger than 16,” Dean said evenly, silently cursing the older man for giving his brother ideas. The idea of taking Sam on any sort of dangerous hunt was terrifying and not something he was even willing to contemplate doing alone for several years. Buying time, he said, “You know what you need to know how to do before we can go on a dangerous hunt alone? I can teach you this summer, if you want, but you could never tell your friends.”

Sam smiled, “What?”

“To drive,” he said evenly, giving his brother a small smile. “I was 14 when Dad taught me to drive. This way, in case he got hurt, I could drive him or us without a problem. Before we go on any hunts out in the woods alone, you need to know how to drive. Until then, it’s too dangerous.” 

“Really?” Sam asked, grinning. “I can drive your car?”

Dean made a face, “Yeah, carefully and we’ll find some place where you can’t scratch it or hit anything or near anyone that might cause problems. Maybe around Bobby’s property for a while until you get more comfortable with it. But it’s got to be our secret, OK?”

He nodded, “Cool. I can totally do that!”

“OK, we’ll add it to the list of things we want to do this summer or even fall, OK?” Glancing behind them into the kitchen as the oven timer went off, he said, “But first, let’s eat! I’m starving.” Standing up, he said, “I’ll cut it and we can eat in front of the TV.”

“Right,” Sam agreed, nodding. “It’s pizza and we’re allowed to eat pizza in front of the TV.”

Slicing the pizza into wedges, he silently mulled over the idea of Sam wanting to hunt a werewolf and the true nightmare of that kind of hunt. He had actually been 13 when he had first assisted their dad on such a hunt and the howls and growls and the sight of such distorted features and claws had been terrifying. When John had finally killed the creature and allowed Dean to come down from the hunter’s hide where he had been perched to provide the older man cover, he had witnessed the body slowly transform from a creature back into a rather thin, ordinary looking guy … someone who was more at home in the university classroom where he taught French then out prowling the Kentucky woods. Knowing that his father had killed someone who was human 27 full day a month made him feel sick, despite knowing what the man was during the night of those three other days. Somehow, it had seemed wrong and unfair and too extreme of a measure but when he had tried to talk to John about it afterwards, he had been quickly and firmly shut down, his concerns dismissed as weak and disappointing. Shaking his head slightly at the memory, he still vividly remembered his father’s disgusted look at even the idea of such a question or concern. It had only taken a few such lessons to learn to stop questioning and simply do as he was told. 

“Do you need help?” Sam called from the living room, twisting and looking over the sofa. Smiling, he said, “I can hold the pan, if you need me to.”

Forcing himself to smile, he shook his head, “Nope, I got it but thanks. You did a great job on the pepperoni and cheese; I didn’t want to mess up your masterpiece and cut it wrong.” Dishing out two slices, he carried the plates and napkins into the living room and sat back down, passing one off to Sam. “Careful, it’s hot.” Glancing at the movie, he said, “So has he turned into Mrs. Doubtfire yet?”

Sam laughed, “I think that’s coming up in just a second.” Settling back on the cushions, he grinned, “Good pizza!”

OOooOOooOOoo

Rolling over with a yawn, Dean glanced at his bedside clock and cringed at the time. It was already after 8:00 and he tried to get up by 7:30 on the weekends and had decided that was a good summer time as well. That gave him time to shower and get his day started before making sure Sam was up by 8:00. Their dad had been a firm believer in always sticking to a schedule and it was one of the philosophies he was trying to live by, too. Opening his bedroom door, he saw his brother’s door across the short hall was open and a quick peek inside showed the bed already neatly made and he could hear the TV on low downstairs. “You up already, Sammy?” he called down the stairs.

“No!” a voice called back. “I’m a burglar enjoying some of your cereal!” He laughed, “Or maybe rakshasa!”

Dean laughed, “You better not be a rakshasa because that would mean my brother was silly enough to invite you in!” Going down the stairs, he smiled as Sam grinned at him from his position on the sofa. “Oh look … just a cereal pig.”

Sam laughed again, taking another bit of his cheerios. “There’s still some left,” he protested. 

Sitting down on the couch next to him, he smiled slightly, “Did you put some fruit in there?” 

He nodded, “Yep, blueberries and it’s good.” Holding out his bowl, he said, “Want some?”

“You finish it, I’ll get my own,” Dean, yawning, forcing himself to wake up. Mindlessly watching a Cosby Show rerun for a few minutes, he forced himself up and into the kitchen. Pouring a cup of coffee from the small pot brewing on the counter, he grabbed a banana and brought both back into the living room to eat. Unpeeling the banana, he said, “Maybe hit Walmart this morning?”

Sam nodded before saying, “I looked at my school stuff and wrote down the four types of books I have to get and I added underwear to the Walmart list. I looked this morning and some of mine are getting kind of ratty.” Glancing at his brother, he smiled and gave a small shrug. “I shouldn’t stress you out and you’re right, it’s easier to just do it now and then we don’t have to worry about it later,” he said quietly.

Staring at him for a moment, Dean grinned, “Thank you, Sam. I really appreciate it.”

He grinned, blushing slightly, and shrugged again before turning his attention back to the TV.

Feeling very proud, Dean bumped against him and laughed softly. “Thanks for having my back, Sammy.”

Sam bumped him back and then leaned into him, “I’ll always have your back.”

“Me too,” he said. 

Rinsing out his cereal bowl in the kitchen sink a half hour later, Sam glanced at the phone as it rang. 

“I’ll get it,” Dean said, reaching for the cordless next to him on the end table. 

“Hi, is Sam there, please?” a boy said over the other line.

“Just a moment,” Dean said and then asked. “Is this Jason?”

He laughed, “Yeah. How are you this morning, Dean? Oh, and my mom says to say sorry for calling so early.”

Dean laughed, “Tell her it’s fine, we’ve been up for ages. And hold on, let me get Sam for you.” Waving the cordless at his brother, he said, “Jason is on the phone for you.”

“Can I go to the pool with Jason today?” Sam asked a minute later, his hand cupped over the phone. “Mrs. Anderson can pick me up around 10:00. I know we were going to go to Walmart …”

He smiled, “It’s fine, Sam. I’ll go by myself. Tell her yes thank you and see if she wants me to pick you both up and bring Jason home at whatever time.”

Sitting back down on the sofa a few minutes later, Sam grinned, “She said thank you and anytime you want to pick us up is good with her. You’re OK going to Walmart by yourself?”

Dean laughed, “While I will miss your input on what color chairs to buy, I feel confident that I will be able to avoid buying anything too stupid.” Standing up, he said, “Come on. Let’s dig out your bathing suit and make sure it fits. If not, you can try mine. You haven’t worn it since like this time last year.”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, it’s been ages.” Standing up, he followed his brother upstairs. Opening a bottom dresser drawer, he pulled out two suits and stared at them. 

“Try them on, squirt,” Dean said evenly. “I know we have some beach towels in the linen closet and we can use one of the reusable shopping bags we have. I’ll try to find towel with your favorite Disney character on them,” he said, laughing. Seeing his brother’s face, he said quietly, “What’s up, Sam?”

He shrugged, putting the suits on the bed. “Nothing.”

Bumping his brother gently, he said, “Doesn’t look like nothing but you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Sam shrugged again and shook his head. 

“OK,” Dean said evenly, “I’m going to go look for those towels. Try your suits on, please.” Reaching over, he ruffled his brother’s hair for a moment. “Be right back.” Finding three folded towels quickly on the bottom self of the hall closet, he leaned against the wall for a long moment, giving his brother time and pushing his own memories back into the tightly controlled box.

“Do you remember the water park we went to last year in Iowa?” Sam asked softly. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, still holding one of the suits.

Sitting down next to him, Dean smiled, “I do. That was a lot of fun. We drove over from that little town, sort of near Madison, and stopped there. We put down that phantom traveler ghost …”

Sam smiled, “Yeah. He was hitchhiking and killing single guys from some school near there. But then we stayed, remember, for like a week even though there wasn’t anything going on? We went to the waterpark every day and even got to rent tubes and went to the movies there at night.” He smiled, “We saw Jaws 2 and The Abyss there.”

He laughed, “Yep. That was really fun and a cool waterpark. It was a great vacation and a fun start to the summer.”

Looking at his suit for a minute, he asked quietly, “Do you think Dad knew he was sick then? Is that why we stayed? Because, remember, he came with us to the park and he never did stuff like that but he did that week. He came like two or three days with us.”

“I’ve wondered about that too, Sammy,” he said quietly, shrugging. “I really don’t know. Dad never said anything to me about when he started to suspect he was sick but …” His voice trailed off as he immediately thought of the previous summer. Pulling his brother close, he kissed the top of his head, “I can see him feeling not great already by the first part of June. He was always in tune with his body and knew when stuff was off. I know he was tired, maybe feeling generally … off and wanting a break. And, of course, he loved to do fun stuff with us and always tried to make the time.”

Sam nodded, “Yeah. I remember joking about him getting old because he was tired.”

“Right,” Dean said, swallowing and blinking back sudden tears as he remembered the jokes about the trick, weapons laden, canes that John would need now that he was getting old. Their father had laughed along with the jokes but had to have known or at least guessed by early June that something was wrong. “He had a great time that week, Sam,” he said. “It’s a really good memory for all of us and I’m sure that was important to Dad.” The lies, like so many others over the previous months came easily, continuing to paint a picture that was rosier and more family – and John - friendly then the truth. Squeezing his brother again, he said several minutes later, “But, come on, try your suit on and let’s make sure it fits. You’ll have a great time today.”

“Not in front of you!” Sam protested, standing up. “You have to get out.”

“Fine, fine,” Dean said, laughing, holding up his hands. “I’m going but come show me in my room before you take it off. And I have two towels for you to pick from and I’ll find a bag.”

Sam eyed him, “They better not have cartoon characters on them.”

Dean laughed, “Would I do that to you?” 

“Yes!” he said, laughing and then shrieked, giggling as he was grabbed and tickled. “Stop it, Dean!”

“Promise, no cartoons,” he said, letting him go. “One is solid red and one is striped.” Pausing at the door, he smiled, “I’ll be in my room, waiting for the fashion show.” Going into his own bedroom, he dug his own swimming trunks out of the bottom drawer of his dresser and threw them on the bed, just in case. 

OOooOOooOOoo

Ringing the doorbell Thursday evening, Dean forced himself to not fidget and project an air of calm and maturity. Smiling as the door opened, he said, “Hi, I’m Dean Winchester here to pick up Kimberly.” Holding out his hand, he smiled again at the older man, who he assumed was her father.

The older man smiled slightly and shook the offered hand, “Mr. Matthis. Come on it, she’ll be down in just a minute.” Leading the way into the living room, he motioned toward the sofa, “Have a seat, Dean.”

“Thanks,” he said, nodding and sitting down. Looking around the house, he said, “This is a great house. Have you all lived here long?” The words sounded stupid and forced but he also knew they were good, standard, small talk starters and ones he had heard and used multiple times in the past year mingling with other 8th grade parents at the pick ups and drop offs of various parties.

Sitting down in a chair near the sofa, the older man nodded, “Thanks, we like it. We moved here a few years after we got married, just before Kimberly was born. She and her brother and sister grew up here.” He smiled slightly, “And where do you live? Kimberly said you just graduated from Lincoln?”

He nodded, “Yes, sir. My brother just finished up 8th Grade at Patrick Henry and our house is sort of halfway between the two schools.”

“That’s a nice area,” he said, nodding. “And Kimberly tells us that you’re heading down to USD this fall? Any ideas on what you’re going to major in?”

“I am going there but I’ll commute to and from each day, not live on campus,” Dean explained and giving him another smile. “No idea on majors yet. Kimberly said she’s going to study nursing at Mount Marty, right?” he asked, hoping to win some points by remembering that detail.

“Her mother is a nurse,” he explained, nodding. “It’s always been something Kimberly has been interested in. Any suggestions or nudges from your parents? What do they do? Maybe follow in one of their footsteps for work …?”

Dean had known the question was coming, it was too standard and too rote not to be asked, and he had his answer down pat. Smiling sadly, he said, “Unfortunately, both of my parents are dead. My mother died years ago and my father died this past November from cancer. We moved here when he got sick to be close to our uncle, who has lived here all his life. He’s a mechanic, car restorer, and owns his own company just outside of town.”

“I’m so sorry to hear that,” he said, shaking his head slightly. “I guess you and your brother live with your uncle?”

Equally prepared for the standard follow up question, Dean smiled, giving the well-rehearsed combination of truths and lies, “Actually, my brother and I live in the house our father got for us here before he died. I’ve been my brother’s legal guardian since I turned 18, shortly after our father’s death. We have a great relationship with our uncle though and see him several times a week and he’s a great support. We went camping together last weekend and Sam, my brother, is staying with him tonight while I’m here. I don’t like to leave him alone too long at night.” Giving a practiced laugh and small smile, he shrugged, holding up his hands slightly and taking on the indulging parental air he often took when talking to other parents, “He says he’s fine and he’s 14 now, but I still worry. He and our uncle have a great time together, cooking hamburgers and watching westerns.”

The older man studied him for a moment before frowning slightly. “You mean you live alone? At 18? And are responsible for your 14 year old brother?”

“Hi! Sorry I kept you waiting,” Kimberly said, coming into the living room and smiling.

Thrilled to have an escape, Dean stood up and smiled. “No problem! Your dad and I were just chatting.”

Kimberly glanced over at her father and gave him a small smile before turning back to Dean. “And you’re still here? I’m impressed!”

He laughed, “We should get going though if we want to have time for dinner before the movie.” Motioning toward the door, he said, “I have chairs and a cooler bag in the car already for us.”

Giving her dad another smile and quick wave, she said, “OK. I’ll be back later.”

“It was great chatting with you, Mr. Matthis,” Dean said, holding out his hand and shaking other man’s hand again. “I hope I get a chance to meet Mrs. Matthis, too, soon.”

The other man nodded, “Pleasure to meet you, Dean. Have fun.”

“Sorry, my dad probably grilled you,” Kimberly said as they pulled away from her house.

Dean shook his head, “No, not at all. He was fine and just asked the normal questions … school, plans, where I live, whatnot.” Glancing at her, he smiled, shrugging, “And hopefully I passed!”

“He’s an accounting compliance officer for the city so I think he’s use to asking a lot of questions,” she explained. Glancing around the car, she said, “Cool car. What kind is it?”

Dean grinned, “Thanks! It’s a 1967 Impala. It was my dad’s.”

She laughed, nodding, “I’m driving my mom’s old Honda. This is much cooler than that. Your dad has good taste. What’s he driving now?”

Inwardly cursing, Dean gave her a quick smile as they stopped at a red light near downtown. “Actually, he died in November. It’s kind of a downer topic though, especially on such a pretty night and such good company.”

She nodded, “OK.” Shifting slightly in her seat, she smiled after a moment and asked, “Where did you say we’re going for dinner?”

“Sam, my younger brother …”

“The cute one you took to Chili’s last week with a couple of his friends,” she provided with a quick smile.

He laughed, “Well, at least partially right … the one I took to Chili’s, at least.” He grinned as she laughed again before saying, “He loves to eat out and since we moved here, we’ve tried a bunch of different restaurants. He swears that the fries at the 10th Avenue Diner are the best and it’s near the park so I thought that’d work.” Glancing over as he paused to turn onto another street, he said, “It’s not fancy or anything but it’s good food.”

“It sounds perfect and you had me at best fries.” Glancing over, she asked, “Where did you move from?”

Inwardly sighing, he smiled and began to tell the well-practiced and rehearsed lies.

“I had a great time tonight,” she said quietly as he put the car in park in her driveway just after 11:00. Glancing at him, she smiled, “I’d invite you in … but …”

He shook his head, “It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” Pausing for a moment, he said, “Maybe next time?”

Kimberly smiled, nodding. Undoing her seatbelt, she slid closer to him and kissed him quickly on the lips, laughing softly before moving away. “I look forward to it.”

Undoing his seatbelt and leaning in, he cupped her head gently and kissed her back for a long moment. “Good,” he whispered, taking a deep breath to calm his blood. “Can I call you?”

Nodding, she kissed him back, “You better.” She laughed and grinned, adding, “Those cookies were great, I can’t wait to have them again.”

He laughed, putting a hand to his heart, saying, “I’m being used! Here I was thinking you were only interested in me for my body but, in reality, you just want food!”

Giggling, she kissed him again, “Yeah but your body isn’t half bad, either.”

Blatantly eyeing her legs under the snug cropped pants she wore, he grinned, “Yours isn’t half bad, either.”

She laughed, blushing slightly and grinning. 

Leaning over, he kissed her again, allowing his hand to move from her waist up slightly, stroking one breast through the thin cotton of her t-shirt with his thumb. “Not bad at all,” he said softly. He sighed as she kissed him back, one hand resting on his thigh, the other on his arm, holding him slightly in place.

“I should go,” she whispered 10 minutes later, breaking away. “But I did have a great time, you’re really nice.” Blushing again, she smiled, settling back against the door. “Call me soon, OK?”

He nodded, getting out on his side and walking to the passenger side to open her door. “For sure,” he said, helping her out. Grinning, he kissed her at the door again before saying, “Good night.”

“Night,” she said, glancing behind her at the dark house and quickly kissing him quickly again. 

“Fifteen minutes early,” Bobby said quietly, glancing at the clock in his bedroom as he picked up the phone. “I’m impressed, kid.”

Dean laughed, “Well, at your age, I want to make sure I don’t stress you out. Not sure how much you can take. How’s Sam? Did you guys have a good night?”

“He’s fine, asleep, I’m sure, since he was yawning when I sent him up to bed around 10:30. We watched Sneakers, which was some movie with Robert Redford and about computer hackers … he picked it out at Blockbusters. And, of course, we made burgers and had ice cream for dessert. How was the date?”

He laughed, “It was good. She’s really nice but I’m not sure her dad liked me.” 

“Well, might not be anything personal,” Bobby said, smiling. “We’ll see how you feel in 30 or so years when you have an 18 year old daughter and she dates.”

Dean was quiet for a long moment before saying quietly, “No, I don’t think it was that.”

Falling back on one of the tricks he had learned over the past year, Bobby remained quiet, giving the younger man the space he often needed to figure out how to say what was on his mind. 

“I don’t think he liked that Dad was dead,” he said quietly after a long minute. “And that I take care of Sam and that we live alone. I stressed how involved you were and how great of a relationship we have and did my whole … sort of parental thing about how Sam is 14 and says he doesn’t need anyone but how I was uncomfortable with him staying by himself too late at night. That’s always worked at warming other parents up to me but I think that freaked her dad out more.”

Bobby was quiet for a moment, silently debating what to say before finally giving a small laugh. “Well, it’s a good thing that you’re not wanting to date him, then, huh?” He smiled as the younger man laughed, “Don’t worry about it, kid. It was a first date, it’s the summer, you’re both going to college in like three months. Enjoy the summer and don’t worry about anything long term.”

“Yeah,” he said, sighing. “You’re right and really, regardless if her father is happy or not … Dad is dead and Sam is my number one priority … neither one of those is going to change for a while.”

Hating so much of that statement, Bobby simply said, “So have fun this summer with her, if you want and if she wants, and don’t worry about anything else.” 

“And I think she wants,” he said, smiling. 

He chuckled, “And I’m happy to keep Sam any time you want. Speaking of which, what time do you want him back?”

“Why don’t we meet up for lunch?” he said. “It’s Friday and that will give me time to do a few things around the house tomorrow. Maybe 11:30?” Hanging up the phone a minute later, he sighed and tried to push everything out of his mind. 

OOooOOooOOoo

Screwing up his courage, Dean took a deep breath and knocked on his brother’s partially closed bedroom door Friday evening. “Got a few minutes?” he asked, going in and smiling as his brother looked up from the book he was reading.

Sam laughed and smiled. “For you? Always!” he said, parroting back one of his brother’s normal lines. He yawned, “Are we still going shooting tomorrow and then buying flowers after you get home?”

He nodded, “Of course!” Sitting down on his brother’s bed, he grinned, “You need all the practice you can get.” Taking another deep breath, he said, “But I want to talk to you about something …”

“I didn’t do anything,” Sam said immediately, shaking his head.

“Well, you did, but it’s OK,” he said, smiling and jumping straight to the point. “When I got home last Saturday, before we left for the camping trip, I went into my room to change and I noticed the top drawer in my nightstand was sort of open and the magazines I keep in there had been gone through.” 

Sam blushed, looking down at the sheets before shaking his head. 

Patting his brother’s leg, Dean said, “Don’t shake your head at me, Sam. We both know you were in there and it’s OK, I’m not mad. Promise.” He smiled, “Hey, look at me, please.”

He glanced up briefly, saying, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Sammy, I promise,” he said, patting his brother’s leg again before taking another deep breath. “I’m guessing you’re looking at the magazines because you’re curious and jerking off, right?”

“Dean! God!” Sam cried, blushing more and trying to slide down under the covers. “Can we please not talk about this!”

He laughed gently, “Hey, I’m not loving this conversation either, dude, but it’s important, so we are both going to suffer through this together.” He grinned, “Come on, I’m at least easier to talk to then Dad, right? I remember you coming to me after he first talked to you about sex years ago and sort of explained things a bit better. You remember that, I know, so trust me … I get it. Clearly, I get it. So, sit up and let’s talk about this for a minute because we’ve got a couple of options but I need to know what you want to do.”

“Forget this ever happened?” Sam asked, grinning and laughing slightly but sitting up with a sigh. 

Feeling as if the ice had been broken, he relaxed a bit and laughed before saying, “OK, so you’re 14 and jerking off is natural. Everyone does it and it’s no big deal. Just don’t do it too much or too hard …”

“Dean!”

“Sorry,” he said, smiling again. “We’ll deal with that in a year or so but anyway…” He sighed, “You need to keep this conversation 100% between us, Sam. I’m serious, this is like … monsters and hunting, family business, secret serious. OK?” When his brother nodded, he said, “I’m happy to get you some magazines that are more age appropriate. What I look at is much more adult then what you need or what you should be looking at right now. Give it some time, don’t rot your brain too soon.” He smiled, “Trust me, there’s plenty of time and it’s kind of fun exploring and figuring out what you like and what does it for you. And really, right now, it doesn’t take much, so no need to go too hard core yet. It’ll just warp you.”

Sam blushed again, shrugging but didn’t say anything. 

“But you can’t tell anyone, Sam,” he repeated. “Most parents, like Jason and Ray’s parents, as cool and as nice as they are, probably aren’t OK with the idea of their sons looking at even soft porn magazines.”

“Ray got in serious trouble for trying to show us one of his brother’s magazines a few months ago,” Sam said quietly. “We didn’t even have a chance to look at it, he just snuck it out of his brother’s room and got caught.”

Dean nodded, “Right, exactly, and if I find out you show any of your friends what I get for you, assuming we go that route, serious trouble won’t even begin to describe what you’ll be in.” He smiled, “Got it?”

Sam laughed softly, “Got it.”

He studied his brother for a moment before nodding, “The other option is probably more normal, more like what Jason and Ray are probably dealing with. That would be me giving you the hard no, stay out of my room, you shouldn’t be looking at stuff like that party line and you trying to figure it out on your own … probably by raiding my stuff when I’m not home or Ray’s brothers’ stuff. I don’t want to do that though; I don’t think that’s right and I don’t want us to have secrets from each other.” He smiled, “I mean, I don’t want the details …”

“Dean! Yuck!” Sam said, blushing and squirming. “Don’t!”

He laughed, “But I do want you to trust me and come to me with questions. Sex is too important not to talk about and it’s normal. We’re both guys, I know how this works, I remember being your age not that long ago. But I also get that it’s not 100% normal for me to be OK with you looking at porn and providing it and I know how much you value being normal.”

“Is this what Dad did with you? I mean, when you were my age? Did he buy you magazines and talk to you about … stuff?” he asked quietly a long minute later. 

He smiled, “Yeah, he was pretty open minded about sex and porn and stuff like that. He just wanted to make sure it was age appropriate, which is what I’m trying to do.” He laughed, “He did draw a hard line on movies in the hotel rooms, though. At first, I thought it was because they cost money and you might walk in but then, when one of Dad’s friends showed me how to by-pass the pay system, I started watching them if you were gone until Dad caught me.” He grinned, patting his brother’s leg, “Serious trouble and really, the movies were too much. Dad was right about that.”

Sam took a deep breath, nodding. “I guess this is just another thing that’s sort of like … our normal then. It’s our unique normal and we’re OK with that.” 

“Yeah, exactly. I’m doing what Dad did and I turned out OK,” he said, smiling. “I just have to trust you not to tell anyone and never, ever show any of your friends what I buy you.”

Sam nodded again, “I know. It’ll stay just between us; I won’t even tell Bobby. I promise, I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Leaning over, he pulled his brother into a hug, kissing the top of his head, “Thank you, I know I can trust you, Sammy.”

“Damn straight,” he said and then giggled as his brother laughed. 

“Any questions? Anything else we need to talk about?”

Sam shook his head, “Nope. I’m good.”

Dean stood up, “OK, but if you change your mind, let me know.” Straightening his brother’s blankets, he glanced at the clock, “And it’s basically your bedtime so, lights out.” Leaning down as his brother slid fully under the covers, he kissed him on the forehead. “Love you, Sam, sleep well.”

He grinned, rolling over on his side. “You too. Wake me in the morning, please, before you leave.”

Dean nodded, before turning out the nightstand light and walking out of the room, mostly closing the door behind him. Taking a deep breath as he went into his own bedroom, he smiled and silently patted himself on the back. Opening the top drawer of his dresser, he pulled out a paper bag with three magazines in it that he had bought on Wednesday for his brother while he was out running errands.

OOooOOooOOoo


	2. June (pt. 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> June ran long, even for my normal chapters, so I’ve broken it into two sections.

June Part One (June 1st – 9th)

“I just don’t want to do it today!” Sam complained, shaking his head at breakfast Sunday morning.

Looking over from the pan where he was cooking the sausage patties, Dean bit back a sharp retort and mostly stopped himself from sighing at his brother’s whiney tone. “OK, we’ll talk about it. But, in the meantime, will you please put the fruit on the table? The sausage is ready and so are the eggs.” Lifting the lid off the scrambled eggs, he quickly dished it out while his brother got the rest of the food on the table.

“I got you some more coffee, too,” Sam said, sitting down in his chair at the table. 

“Thanks,” he said, putting down the plates with scrambled eggs and sausage before sitting down. “And thank you for setting the table.” 

Sam smiled before taking a bite of his eggs. 

Taking a bite of sausage, Dean said after a moment, “I’m confused, Sam.”

He sighed, leaning his head on his elbow and frowning at his food. “About what?” he asked sullenly. 

Kicking his brother lightly under the table, he said, ignoring the tone, “Elbows off the table and sit up, please.” He smiled as Sam smiled quickly at him before sitting up. “I’m confused as to what the problem is,” he continued. “You know what kind of books you’re supposed to get for your summer reading and it’s pretty straight forward. You like to read; we go to the library all the time and you read almost every night.” Taking another bite, he said, “So why all the moaning and groaning and eye rolling and dragging of feet about it?”

Sam made a face, “I am not moaning and groaning, Dean!”

He laughed, “You sound like a ghost, Sammy boy!” Putting his hand to his forehead, he moaned and then clutched his stomach, groaning and laughing lightly.

He rolled his eyes but grinned before sighing again. Taking a bite of his food, he said quietly after a minute, “I don’t want to pick the wrong thing. I don’t want to pick something stupid.” Glancing up at his brother, he gave a small shrug before dropping his eyes again and poking at his food. “I don’t know what’s right and I don’t want to get it wrong.”

“What do you mean, what’s right?” Dean asked after a moment when it was clear his brother wasn’t going to say anything else. “You have to read four books, four different types of books. As long as you get those types, it’s right.” He shrugged, asking quietly, “What am I missing, Sam?” When his brother didn’t answer, he reached out and tapped his brother’s hand, “Come on … talk to me.”

Taking a small bite of his sausage, he sighed again before saying suddenly, “I don’t want to get something that’s stupid and not cool or weird and for other people to think I’m weird for picking that book. OK?” Shaking his head, he said, “Why can’t they just tell us what to read and then I know what I’m supposed to do and what’s right!” Making a face, he said, “What if I pick the wrong books and everyone thinks I’m weird? It’s like … a test or something to judge how normal or weird I am.” Falling silent again, he sighed, eating another small bite of egg.

Trying hard not to feel over his head, Dean nodded, thinking quickly of the articles he had read over the past year and his brother’s ongoing struggle for normalcy and to feel like he fit in. “I get it, Sam. I do. No one wants to be the weird kid who picks the strange or stupid books, right?”

He nodded, “Yeah.”

“But you know what you’ve got that most of them don’t have?” Dean asked, picking up a strawberry and eating it with a smile. 

“What?” Sam asked, glancing up and smiling slightly.

Tilting his head slightly, Dean smiled at him and gave a small shrug, “I hate to be the one to say it … but … we both know it …” 

Sam laughed softly, “What?”

“You have the coolest older brother ever,” he said, grinning and then laughed as Sam laughed. Holding out his hands, he bowed slightly, “Come on, you know it’s true. Admit it.” Kicking the younger boy lightly under the table, he said, “Come on, squirt, admit it. I am the coolest older brother ever.” Nudging the bowl of fruit toward him, he said, “And have some fruit, it’s good for you.”

Laughing, he nodded before sighing and saying in a sing-songy voice, “Yes, you are the coolest brother ever.” Picking up a strawberry, he ate it, “And get the best strawberries, too.”

“Courtesy of Laura and Max, in the booth next to Glenn’s,” he said, nodding. “But seriously, Sam, I promise you two things. One, you’re not going to pick out a stupid book because you have good taste and two, even if you wanted to pick out something stupid or uncool, I wouldn’t let you. I spent a year there building up the Winchester name and reputation for coolness, I’m not going to let you blow it on your first day.” Slowly grinning, he bumped his brother’s hand again, “Trust me, have I ever steered you wrong?”

Sam took a deep breath and shook his head, smiling slightly. Then he giggled, saying, “Yes! Actually, you have … totally!”

Dean laughed, “When?”

“You said that those salmon cake things you made last month for dinner were good and I’d like it but it tasted and looked like cat food!” Sam exclaimed, grinning. “You tried to feed me cat food!”

He laughed out loud, shaking his head. “OK, first off … it wasn’t cat food and second, the reviews were good! It came from that food magazine we get in the mail and have liked their other recipes and you like tuna noodle casserole fine. It was supposed to be like fried … tuna casserole.” He grinned, remembering that disaster of a dinner. Too well trained by their father to let edible food go to waste, he had dutifully eaten it three days that week but couldn’t pressure his brother to do the same and instead had let the younger boy have chicken. 

Sam giggled again, “Cat food! It tasted like cat food!”

Standing up, Dean grabbed his brother, tickling him and half pulling him out of his chair. “And how would you know what cat food tastes like, squirt? Huh?” He laughed as his brother tried to squirm away.

Sam laughed, “Stop it, Dean! It’s what I imagine cat food would taste like!” Giggling and laughing, he shook his head, finally pulling away. He smiled, “But yeah, other than that, you’re pretty cool.”

Dean sighed, saying, “Pretty cool, is that the best I can get?”

He smiled, sitting back down and nodding. “Maybe fairly cool?”

Pouring another cup of coffee before sitting back down, he nodded toward his brother’s breakfast. “Finish up and let’s go out and get those flowers we bought yesterday planted and then we’re going to bite the bullet and go shopping for your books.” He smiled, picking up another strawberry, “And I promise you, only cool books that will show how normal you are.”

Sam sighed, pushing his plate away and saying, “I’m done.” Then, swallowing said quietly, “OK, as long as you promise you won’t let me pick out anything stupid.” He shook his head, adding quietly, “I don’t want to be the weird kid … again, you know?”

“I know,” he said honestly, remembering too many years and schools and always being the weird kid that showed up on a random Monday, wearing clothes that weren’t quite right, rarely at the right place with schoolwork, and knowing none of the local jokes or customs. He had learned to not care and rise above all the school drama and was usually too busy balancing everything to have time to care, but Sam hadn’t managed to do that. Closing his eyes briefly, pushed away the brief flare of happiness overlaid by guilt that his brother would never have to develop that skill because their father was dead and they were free from that lifestyle. Standing up, he nodded, saying again, “I know, Sammy.”

Nodding, Sam closed his eyes as he stood up, blinking away sudden tears. “Thanks,” he said hoarsely.

Pulling his brother closer and hugging him, he said, “It’s OK, Sam. I get it. I remember, too.”

“Yeah,” he said quietly, hugging him tightly back and trying hard not to cry.

Kissing him gently on the top of on the head, Dean rested his head against his brother’s and held him tight. “I know,” he said softly. “It’s OK.”

“It looks really pretty,” Sam said, nodding three hours later as he looked at the mass of bright yellow, orange, and white flowers they had planted in the beds around the front porch, mailbox and side windows. Shortly after signing the rental agreement, John had installed simple looking but 100% iron planter fencing to create beds in front of the two side windows and around the entire front porch. A thin, barely visible iron strip ran across the walkway connecting the two front planting areas and created a solid barrier that ghosts and demons would be unable to cross. 

Dean nodded, “It does. We did a good job picking out flowers.” In reality, a very nice worker at the nursery they went to yesterday afternoon had picked out the flowers, with a few suggestions from them, and gave strict instructions on how to plant them. As a result, the beds were neatly laid out and colorful and, hopefully, easy to maintain. They had bought additional soil and another hose and Dean had all but closed his eyes when he saw the final bill, figuring if Bobby said anything, he’d help pay the bill with what he was earning at Glenn’s. “You want to water while I clean up the bags and containers and put stuff away?”

Sam nodded, “OK.” Bumping against his brother, he grinned and said, “Looks like at least a semi-responsible adult lives here.” He laughed, echoing one of Dean’s statements about keeping up appearances, blending in, and not rocking the boat with the neighbors.

He laughed, “Well, that’s the best we can hope for at least.” Grinning, he picked up one of the soil bags and began to shove the stacked black plastic containers inside. “We probably should put down mulch,” he said when he was done cleaning up 10 minutes later. “It looks like that’s what other people do.”

“OK,” Sam said, shrugging, clearly uninterested in more yard work. “Bobby will be impressed,” he added. “When is he coming over?”

“I don’t know, do you want to ask him to come to dinner this week?” Dean laughed, adding, “I can make salmon patties again.” He laughed, jumping out of the way as his brother aimed the stream of water at his feet. “Or maybe not.” Watching his brother for another long moment he said, “I’m going to go take a shower and change while you finish up and then you need a shower before we go for lunch.”

Glancing at him, he nodded, “Where are we going for lunch?”

“We could go to the diner where I took Kimberly on Thursday,” he said. “There are those two used bookstores nearby, we could hit both of those afterwards.”

Sam grinned, “Yeah! They have the best fries and I can get a milkshake.”

“We’ll see,” he said, smiling. “Ok, finish up and I’m going inside. Don’t accept candy from strangers, help look for lost puppies, or get in any vans, OK?”

Rolling his eyes, he grinned and aimed the water hose at his brother again.

Pulling the folded sheet of paper with Sam’s notes out of his pocket, Dean said, as they paused in the front of the bookstore, “OK, Sammy … which one do you want to start with? Classic, modern classic, something by a non-English speaking author, or non-fiction?”

Sam sighed, shrugging. “I guess … classic,” he said slowly. Sipping at his milkshake, he sighed again.

“Good choice, start at the basics,” he said, bumping his brother and grinning. “Have you given it any thought?” When Sam didn’t answer, he said, “OK … lots to pick from. Why don’t we go look in that section and see what looks good?” He smiled, adding, “And not stupid.” Sipping at his own milkshake, he led the way to the section of the store and sat down on a bench in the aisle, nodding. “Go for it … show me what you think looks good.”

Glaring at him for a second, Sam sighed again and began scanning the shelves. A minute later, he said, “I had sort of thought of this …”. Pulling out the book, he smiled slightly and tossed it to Dean.

“Oh, good choice!” he said, glancing at it with a smile. “And we can watch the movie that came out a few years ago.” Lowering his voice, he added, “And I think they’re extinct or all but according to Dad and Bobby, so nothing weird about reading about them.”

Sam smiled, “And vampires are kind of cool, right?”

“Sure,” he said, nodding. “Just enough sex to not be childish … it’s perfect and fits your Classic category well.” Flipping through the book, he nodded, putting it down next to him. “OK, what about a modern classic then or a classic by a non-English speaking author? Any ideas?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. Giving his milkshake a last sip to empty the cup, he said, “Maybe you can look while I throw my cup away?” Glancing over, he gave a small smile, adding, “Please?”

Dean smiled, handing over his empty cup, not wanting to fight or press the issue too much. “OK, I can do that if you throw mine away, too, please.”

Taking the cup, he smiled wider, “Thanks. Be right back.”

Watching his brother walk away, Dean scanned the shelves in the area, thinking back to what he had read in 9th and 10th grade and what would be cool, interesting, hard enough but not too hard and send the right message to the teacher. Passing three off to Sam a few minutes later, he said, “Here, take a look at these. I think they’d work.”

“Around the World In 80 Days, The Count of Monte Cristo, and Death on the Nile,” he read and smiled slightly. “I’ve heard of these.

Dean laughed slightly, “I’d hope so but they’re all good and I think you’d like them.” Tapping Death on the Nile, he said, “That’s what I’d suggest for your Modern Classic. Can’t go wrong with Agatha Christie and Poirot is a fun character. Dad use to watch it on PBS and he read the books, too. Poirot is the little pudgy guy with the mustache.” Twirling his fingers to imitate the mustache, he smiled, “I’m sure Blockbusters or maybe the library has the PBS show and we’ll watch some, if you want.”

“Dad liked it?”

He nodded, “Yeah and so did I. He actually recommended it to me when I had to read something or another in 8th or 9th grade.” He smiled, bumping his brother, “So … it’s sort of like Dad recommending it to you, too, because he would have.”

“Cool,” Sam said, smiling. “If it’s good, maybe we can get others?”

“Of course,” he said, nodding. “We’ve got those shelves up at the top of the stairs, we can start our own book collection. Your favorites, mine, and Dad’s.”

Sam grinned, nodding. “Yeah.” Putting it down on the bench next to his other book, he looked between the other two in his hand. “Why did you pick out these?”

“For your non-English speaking authors,” he explained. “They’re both French authors but the stories aren’t too … out there or stuff you won’t understand. It’s not like stupid Candide, which I didn’t get at all and you want to stay away from the Russian authors … massive, long ass books.” He tapped The Count of Monte Cristo, saying, “This one is more complicated and more history is involved. People use fake names a lot and I remember it was kind of … dense but it’s a classic and Dumas is a well-known author. He wrote The Three Musketeers, too.”

“I think I’ll take this one,” Sam said, holding up Around the World in 80 Days. “Mr. Peabody and Sherman met Jules Verne one time and I remember you telling me about this book and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” He grinned, “We were staying near a lake and you assured me there were no sea monsters because I was scared to get into the water.”

Dean stared at him, smiling slowly. “Oh yeah, I remember that! Dad thought it was because I let you watch Jaws but I told him no, it was because I told you about sea monsters, which didn’t improve the situation.” He laughed, “I can’t believe you remember that.”

He laughed, “I didn’t until I started thinking about this book.” Grinning, he said, “These are perfect. Thanks!” Glancing around, he said, “What about my non-fiction book? What did Dad like?”

“Oh, no,” Dean said, shaking his head. “We’re not trusting Dad’s taste in non-fiction.” He laughed, taking his brother’s three books and shaking his head again. “I have the perfect book for you, Sam, but it’s pretty new so I’m sure it’s not here yet. We’ll either get it new, I have that Barnes & Noble gift card from graduation, or we’ll check back in a month and see if it turns up here. OK?”

Grinning, he said, “What is it?”

“Nope,” Dean said, “you’re going to have to wait. Consider it a bribe for getting done with these three first.” Bumping against him as they walked to the checkout counter, he glanced around. “Want to look for anything else while we’re here or are you good with your library books?”

“I’m good,” he confirmed, looking around and sighing. Walking out of the store a few minutes later, he sighed, bumping against his brother and smiling. “Thanks, Dean,” he said. “I think I got some good books. I think they’re OK.”

Bumping him back, he smiled, nodding, “They’re perfect, Sam.”

“Sam, Ray called for you!” Dean called out, hitting the delete button on the answering machine. “He said to give him a call back. But don’t take too long, OK? I need to call someone, too.”

Coming into the kitchen, he grinned, making kissing sounds with his mouth, “Your girlfriend?”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” he countered and then smiled, picking up the phone. “And as payback for the inappropriate sound effects, I’m going first. You can wait.” He laughed as Sam stuck out his tongue before going down the hall toward the office. Leaning against the kitchen counter, he listened to the phone ring several times before Kimberly picked up. “Hey, it’s Dean … Winchester,” he said, silently cursing at the awkward start.

She laughed, “Hi Dean Winchester. I was hoping to hear from you.”

He grinned, “You said you worked on Friday and Saturdays so I didn’t want to bother you then and was hoping to catch you this afternoon. How are you?”

“I’m good. Work was slammed but I’m off today for a change, working tomorrow and Tuesday and then off until Friday. What are you up to?” she asked before laughing softly.

“Oh, exciting stuff here for sure,” he said. “Worked yesterday and then bought a ton of flowers and stuff to plant at the house. This is the first summer we’ve been here and it’s kind of plain. Can’t look bad to the neighbors…”

“No way,” she said, interrupting him. “You do not want to get the HOA on your bad side, trust me!”

He laughed, “Right. We got that all planted today and it looks nice. Then went shopping for 9th Grade Summer Reading List books. Sam has to read four different types and do reports on them.”

“Oh, I’m such a book nerd,” she said, giggling slightly. “What is he reading? I loved helping my brother and sister pick out books to read in school.”

Hanging up the phone 15 minutes later, Dean smiled. “Sam!” he called, “I’m off the phone!”

“Bobby says we’re not supposed to yell in the house!” Sam yelled back, laughing as he came in from the office where he had been playing a computer game. He grinned, asking, “How’s your girlfriend?”

Grabbing his brother, Dean pulled him close and tickled him, “She’s not my girlfriend, squirt!” 

Sam laughed, trying to pull away as he made kissing noises. “Stop it, Dean!” Pulling free, he grinned, “Do you have another date?”

He nodded, “Yep, but during the day so think about what you want to do while I’m gone. We’re going to go hiking over at a state park near here so I won’t be gone all day or anything. You can stay home or go to Bobby’s or just hang out here... maybe get started on some of your reading.” Nodding to the wall calendar and the circled weekend of June 14th. “We talked about going hunting that weekend but you promised to have a book done by then …”

Sam grinned, “I can totally get that done. Will-o'-the-wisp lights, right?”

He nodded, “Right. Roy Lake has lots of legends and every summer, people get lost, some even go missing, and they all claim to see lights trying to lead them deep into the marsh areas or out into the lake.” 

“So cool,” he said. “We can totally stop it. When Bobby was telling me about it, he also said he had a banishing spell. I’ll ask him for it so we have time to make sure we have what we need or see if we need to go shopping.”

Dean nodded, “Great, that will be a big help.” Phantom lights were easy, safe, and, as long as no one went off alone, nothing to be afraid of. And, in most cases, were simply swamp gas, firefly swarms or weird reflections of distant car headlights. It was the perfect hunt to do on their own, getting them back on the road and giving Sam a small taste of hunting. “Don’t forget to call Ray,” he said, smiling. “I’m going to watch some TV but you can watch with me. There are several ball games on we pick from.”

“Dean!” Sam hissed, waving the kitchen phone 10 minutes later, “Mrs. Catlos wants to talk to you.”

Glancing over from his seat on the couch, he lowered the TV volume and picked up the cordless phone from nearby. “Hi Agnes, how are you?” he asked, moving his feet from the sofa as Sam came into the room and sat down.

“Oh, I’m good,” she said, “but I have a favor to ask of you.”

“Of course, anything,” he said. “What can I do for you?”

She sighed, “Ray really wants to go to the pool on Tuesday with Sam and some other friends but I worry. I know, according to the pool rules, they’re allowed to go without an adult after 13 … but I worry. I’d ask Justin but honestly, when he’s with his friends … Ray might as well be by himself and the other two are working and so I am.” She paused, laughing softly, “I know it’s silly … but …”

He smiled, “I’m more than happy to go and make sure no one drowns or kills each other or whatever.”

Next to him, Sam made a face, sighing. 

“Oh! Thank you so much,” she said. “I really appreciate it. It just makes me feel better to know that someone is there and kind of keeping an eye out on everyone.”

“Happy to do it,” he said. “Should I pick him up or is everyone meeting there or …?”

“Meeting there is perfect,” she said. “I can drop him off when they open at 10:00, before I need to be at work at 10:30. Feel free to bring him back home whenever you’re done for the day or Raymond can pick him up.”

Dean smiled, “I’ll bring him back home safe and sound, mid-afternoon. OK?”

Agnes laughed, sighing, “Thanks again, that’s perfect. I really wish Justin … but whatever. Thanks and I’ll see you both on Tuesday!”

“Ray is so embarrassed,” Sam said, making a face. “He said he begged his mom not to talk to you but she said he couldn’t go otherwise. She doesn’t think it’s safe.” Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. “She’s silly.”

“She’s a mother, be nice,” he countered. Privately, he thought the bigger problem wasn’t that she worried but that she had raised several other sons who didn’t seem to care about their younger brother at all. That was a flat out embarrassment, in his mind.

“You’re not going to like … sit with us, are you?” Sam asked, glancing at him. “There are a lot of kids from my class and other schools that are there and I had fun last week … it’s totally safe.”

He laughed, “No, I won’t sit you with you guys, I promise.” Grinning, he stood up, “I’ll just yell for you across the pool. Sammy! Sammy sweetie!!”

Sam laughed, kicking at his brother, “You will not!”

Dean laughed, shaking his head, “Sammy sweetie! Did you put on suntan lotion? You know how you burn!” 

“No! You wouldn’t dare!” he said, laughing and shaking his head. “Please! You can’t embarrass me, Dean!”

“It is one of the few joys I get in life, Sam,” he said, “I live to embarrass you sometimes! And, to make sure I do such a good job, I’m going to go make sure my bathing suit fits and I have a towel with cartoon characters on it, otherwise we can go shopping tomorrow.” Ruffling his brother’s hair, he grinned, “I hope Miss Emma is there …” Stepping out of the way as Sam tried to kick him again, he laughed, before heading up stairs, calling out again, “Sammy sweetie, do you want a juice box or maybe some Teddy Grahams for a snack?”

Laughing and falling back on the sofa cushions, he yelled, “If I have no friends after Tuesday, it will be your fault!”

Dean laughed again from upstairs. 

OOooOOooOOoo

“Sam, I’m home!” Dean called, stepping into the kitchen late Wednesday afternoon. Putting down his backpack, he saw the note on the countertop and smiled. They had discussed the house rules that morning before he left and he was glad to see his brother had remembered one of the key rules. Picking up the pad of paper, he read, ‘Went bike riding with Eddie and George to the park at 2:00 and will be home by 5:00. We will probably be by the tennis courts or the skateboard area with the bike ramps and stairs.’ The phone rang a second later and he quickly picked it up. “Hello?”

“Oh, Dean, hey,” Bobby said. “I wasn’t sure when you boys would be home today.”

“I just got home from a great date with Kimberly, the Chili’s Girl,” he said, smiling. “We went hiking and found some nice shaded areas along the river to have lunch at and … chat.”

The other man laughed, “Good for you. Maybe I can take Millie there … she’s pretty adventurous.”

“OK, OK,” Dean said, groaning at the idea of the older man’s dating life. “No details please. How are you today?”

“I’m good and was actually nearby and was curious if you boys were interested in dinner. I talked to Sam earlier about hunting will-o’-the-wisps and fairy lights and he was moaning about leftovers for dinner tonight and how he had leftovers for lunch while you were out on a date and eating all sorts of cool things ...”

Dean laughed, “He’s playing you, Bobby but yeah, come on over. We haven’t seen you in a few days and have been meaning to show you the flowers we put out on Sunday.”

“I’m pulling onto your street right now,” he said, chuckling. 

He laughed, “I’ll meet you out on the driveway.” Going out the front door just as the truck pulled into the driveway. “Perfect timing!” he called, walking toward the driveway.

Bobby laughed, pulling him into a quick hug and nodding. “Yeah, I’m glad you were home.” Nodding at the flowers by the mailbox and front of the house, he said, “And those look great. You boys pick them out yourselves?”

“Not a chance!” Dean said, shaking his head. “We went to some nursery Bob from next door recommended and a nice older guy told us exactly what to plant and where. All we need to do is pull weeds and water, hopefully!” Looking at the plants, he smiled, dropping his voice slightly, “But yeah, it looks nice, doesn’t it? Blends in with the neighborhood and looks right?”

Hearing the silent uncertainly in the other man’s voice, he nodded, “Exactly right.” Glancing around the small quiet side street, he said, “John did good, it’s a nice area, good neighborhood … quiet and safe and almost everyone seems to keep up their yards.”

Dean smiled, “Yeah and having some service cutting the grass really helps! I just have to remember to make sure the hoses are picked up every Monday and we’re good to go.” He smiled, “Sam loves it here and has been riding that bike you got him, constantly.” Nodding toward the house, he said, “Come on in and try these bars I made last night to take to lunch with Kimberly today. They’re good! Sam said he’ll be home by 5:00 and then we can look at dinner.” Glancing over, he asked, “So what were you doing in town anyway? Research at the library? You know if you need something, give me a call and I’m happy to help.”

“I appreciate it,” he said, smiling and following the other man into the house. “I was in town to pick up some supplies from an herb lady for another hunter. He was looking for something to block the effects of a siren’s bite. He thinks there’s a nest of them in Vegas right now, taking advantage of the convention trade and doesn’t want to risk getting infected.”

Dean glanced at him, opening the container on the counter and passing it over, before saying, “I thought sirens had a call? Like a song or something?”

Taking a bar, Bobby shook his head, “Nope, that’s just legend. In reality, they read your mind and then kiss you or at least exchange saliva and infect you that way, making you see the perfect person for you. These look great, what are they?”

“Caramel bars,” he said, grinning and taking one. “Did you find the herbs? What was it?”

Sitting down at the table, he smiled, nodding. “Go get your dad’s journal and you can fill it in. Sam said you’re going to take him hunting in a couple of weeks, might as well start adding to your list of knowledge and keeping a journal is the perfect way to do that. I also got some stuff for him to use in your hunt of a will-o'-the-wisp lights.” He smiled, adding, “You know that’s usually just swamp gases or weird light reflections and not fairies, right?”

Dean laughed, nodding, “Yeah. But Sam doesn’t and the area, Roy Lake, does have some Indian burial mounds and legends attached to it so who knows, there might be something floating around up there. Plus, this is the first hunt with just us and I’m not doing anything dangerous.” Reaching over, he hit the other man gently on the shoulder, “Speaking of which ... what’s with telling him about werewolves? He’s already looked up full moons and asked me about it.” He shook his head, “That’s all I need, Bobby. Thanks!”

He laughed, “We were just talking and one thing led to another. It wasn’t planned. Now, stop your complaining, go get your dad’s journal, and I’ll give you this information. You might need it one day.”

Coming back from the office with their dad’s journal, he sat back down and began to flip through the pages. “I’m sure I read something about sirens in here,” he said, scanning the pages. 

Bobby nodded, “Probably. He tangled with one years ago … not long after I met him, I think.”

“Found it,” he said, smiling and scanning the entry. “OK, he doesn’t say anything about herbs that can be used to make you immune, just how to kill them and break a spell.”

Pulling out a sheet of paper, he said, “Here, jot this down. You brew it into a tea and drink it 12 hours before you plan to tangle with one.”

“Huh,” Dean said, scanning the list. “Seems simple enough.”

“It is, just takes a bit of planning,” he confirmed. Watching him for a moment, he said with a slight hesitation, “I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials for Father’s Day on the TV. That’s coming up in a couple of weeks.”

Taking a sip of his coke, he shrugged. “Yeah … and that was certainly on my mind when I suggested we go camping, hunting, next weekend. We’ll head out on Saturday and come back on Tuesday and will sort of do our own thing. But Father’s Day was never a big thing for us; Dad usually wasn’t around or we were all out hunting something because it’s summer and he was never one to care about cards or gifts.” Absently touching the amulet he wore, he shrugged again, “I don’t even know that Sam’s thought about it.”

Bobby nodded, “Just curious.” Standing up, he looked out the window and smiled, “Vegetables are doing good.”

Happy to change the subject, he laughed, “Yeah. Sam’s all excited about it. He goes out and waters every morning and I think is planning on pulling a carrot in about another month.” Nodding toward the calendar on the wall, he said, “He’s marked 60 days on there. It’s carrots and onions and he’s thrilled.” He took a deep breath before saying, “I know it’s stupid but I just …” Falling silent, he shook his head.

Moving into the kitchen to give the other man a bit of space while he worked out what he wanted to say, Bobby got two more bar cookies before sitting down next to him and passing one over. “I’m sure it’s not stupid, Dean,” he urged quietly.

“This is just exactly the kind of summer I want for him,” he said finally. Shaking his head, he said, “I know it’s stupid but it makes me feel so … happy, I guess, because he’s got friends and is off doing stuff with them. We went to the pool yesterday and he fits in, even though he worries he doesn’t. But he’s happy and acts like any other normal, stupid kid his age and I love that. I love that he can have that.” He swallowed, shaking his head, “And all it took was Dad dying to get that.” Closing his eyes for a second, he shook his head, breaking off a bit of his caramel bar and eating it. “Such a waste, Bobby. Why couldn’t he have found a better balance? Other people do it, other hunters. Why couldn’t he?” he asked in a quiet voice.

“I don’t know, kid,” he said quietly. “I don’t know but agree, it’s a shame and sad.”

“Yeah,” he said, shaking his head again. Folding his arms in front of him, he laid his head down with a sigh, repeating, “Yeah.”

Resting a hand on Dean’s back, he kept to his long standing policy to simply listen, empathize but rarely add his own criticism of John. Instead, he simply sat there for a long moment before saying, “Yeah.” Then, feeling as if it always needed to be added, he said, “And it’s good that you’re having a great summer, too. You deserve it as much as Sam. Some time off, some fun, a little bit of female company.” Adding the last part with a laugh, he grinned as Dean laughed. 

He took a deep breath and sat up, smiling slightly. “I did have fun today but it’s nothing serious, for sure.”

“Well, as the fun uncle, I think I’m entitled to say that you don’t have to be serious to have fun,” Bobby said. Then, hitting him lightly, added, “Just make sure you have responsible fun, if you catch my drift.”

Dean laughed, nodding, “Yeah, I catch your drift … Uncle Bobby. Don’t worry, I am Mr. Responsible. I can do laundry, get a nutritious dinner on the table in less than an hour every night, oversee homework, and still find time to make out with a pretty girl.” He laughed, “I’m like a … PG-rated version of James Bond.”

He laughed, shaking his head. “I think you might have too much sun today, kid, if you are comparing yourself to James Bond.” He grinned, “Or maybe thinking of the Peter Sellers James Bond.”

“Hey!” he protested, laughing. “Sean Connery, thank you very much! Or at least Pierce Brosnan. There’s a new film coming out this Christmas, I should take you so you can see the similarities.” Nodding, he said, “Yeah, that will be perfect and you’ll totally see ...”

“Christmas! It’s not even 4th of July yet!” Bobby protested. “I swear, you boys …” Turning as they heard the front door open, he laughed, “And speaking of which, sounds like your co-conspirator is home.”

“I’m home early!” Sam called, coming in the front door, laughing. “Like with 10 minutes to spare! Aren’t you impressed?”

Smiling at Bobby, Dean stood up and caught his brother coming into the kitchen. Hugging him quickly, he said, “I am impressed, thank you, and I’ll be even more impressed if you don’t track your filthy shoes all over the house.”

Toeing off his sneakers, Sam rolled his eyes. “Always with the shoes, Dean,” he muttered.

“That’s right,” he confirmed, ruffling his brother’s hair and bumping him gently. “Always with the shoes. Did you have a good time?”

“Hey Bobby,” he said, padding into the kitchen after tossing his shoes into the laundry room. 

Hugging him quickly, Bobby said, “You look like you’ve had fun.”

He grinned, “Yeah! We played tennis ball dodge ball up at the tennis courts until some people actually wanted to use the courts and we had to get off.” He made a face and shrugged, “But it was fun.” Opening the container of bars on the counter, he grinned, “Did you try these? I picked the recipe out and they’re great! I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“They are good,” he confirmed. “I had two while I’ve been sitting here talking to your brother.” Watching the younger boy, he couldn’t help but smile and understood Dean’s pure pleasure at Sam’s happiness at simply being a kid. “I was so moved by your plight and story about having to eat left overs for both lunch and dinner, and I needed to be in town anyway, I thought I’d see if I could temp you out for dinner.” Nodding toward the small bag he carried in, he added, “I also brought those herbs we were talking about to help you with the will-o’-the-wisps and, just in case it’s fairies, an iron bracelet for you to wear. Fairies are burned by iron.”

Nodding, Dean said, “Go upstairs please and take a shower and change. When you’re done, come back down and have Bobby show you how to use those herbs. They’re going to be your responsibility, OK?”

Sam grinned, nodding. “OK!”

Watching him head upstairs, Dean turned back to Bobby, smiling and shrugging. “It’s good practice and low risk and thanks for the bracelet. I’ve been thinking about getting him a silver one, just in case, but iron is better.”

He laughed, “Yeah, it is. But, speaking of Sam, let me run something by you before I bring it up to him.”

“What’s up?” he asked, sitting back down and taking the last swig of his Coke.

“I’ve decided to fix up the house a bit,” he explained as he sat down at the table. “Clean out some of the junk, do some repairs, and get it painted. It’s long overdue.”

Dean laughed, nodding, “OK. I can help with that, for sure. Sam is actually going to be gone to soccer camp for four nights in mid-July and having a project will help prevent me from like stalking him at camp and sleeping out in the car to keep watch.”

He smiled, “You’re letting him go to overnight camp?”

Making a face and shaking his head, he said, “Let’s not talk about it. I haven’t fully accepted it yet but he’s excited and I figure I have a month to try to find some sort of protection amulet or spell or drink or something that will somehow put him in a magic bubble and prevent anything from happening or anything getting him. Your iron accessory is just going to be the tip of the iceberg if I get my way.” He laughed, shrugging, “But a project will be good, especially since you won’t let me drink.” Holding up his hands, he laughed as the older man frowned, “Joking! Joking!”

He nodded, letting it go, and saying, “I was going to ask Sam if he wanted to help clean stuff out with me and earn a bit of extra pocket money. There’s a lot of stuff to be gone through and sorted. The way he moans about how little his allowance is, I thought he might appreciate it.”

“You don’t have to pay him, Bobby,” Dean said, shaking his head. “With all the time we spend over there, it’s like our second home. I’ll just tell him to help.”

“No,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “It’s his summer and he should get paid.” Laughing, he added, “And this way I can work him like a dog and not feel guilty about it.”

Dean laughed, nodding, “OK. Sounds good to me and if you play your cards right, I might even help you guys.” He smiled, thinking about the idea of the older man fixing up his house that had been in a slow state of decay for years. “What color are you thinking about painting it?”

“Believe it or not, at one time, it was blue, with white trim,” he said. “I think that’s what I’ll go with again. Karen picked it out, said it remined her of these china plates her grandmother had.” He smiled slightly and shrugged. 

“That sounds nice,” he agreed. “It’ll be a fun project and we certainly owe you for all your help over the years. The least I can do is help and Sam is happy to lug stuff around and clean.”

Bobby laughed, raising his coke can in a toast, “I appreciate it, kid.”

OOooOOooOOoo

Getting out of the car early Monday morning at Bobby’s, Dean glanced at Sam. “Got it?” he asked, nodding toward the doughnut box his brother was carrying.

He smiled, “Yeah. Don’t forget the cake.”

Opening the back door, he grabbed the covered dish and nodded. “We’ll get the duffle bag later,” he said. Walking to the kitchen screen door, he held it open for his brother and calling, “Bobby! Your muscle is here!” Then, grinning added, “And Sam’s here, too!”

Sam rolled his eyes, elbowing his brother as he passed him. “Ha ha, Dean,” he said laughing. “Hope I don’t eat your lemon filled.”

“Touch my doughnut and be prepared to sleep with one eye open tonight, Sammy boy,” he said before smiling and bumping against him. 

Coming into the kitchen, Bobby smiled, saying, “Morning, boys.”

Sam held up the box, “We brought doughnuts from the cool dog bakery downtown and, in honor of your big clean out, a dumpster cake!” He laughed, “It’s cherry. Do you have ice cream to go with it?”

“What is a dumpster cake,” he asked, eyeing the covered dish.

Dean laughed, “It’s a dump cake but we’ve been calling it a dumpster cake because it’s more fitting. It’s just fruit, cherry pie filling in this case, and boxed cake mix and butter. It’s good, you’ll like it.”

He smiled, “Sounds good and doughnuts look great.” Selecting a cruller, he smiled, “So what’ve you been up to this past weekend?”

“We went to see Con Air yesterday,” Sam said, smiling. “It was so good. You’d like it, Bobby. Maybe we can go see it again with you?” Pulling out a blueberry doughnut, he took a bite. “But you know what’s coming out on 4th of July that you have to see?”

“What?” he asked, laughing. “It’s been a while since I’ve been to the movies so that’s a high bar, Sam.”

Dean laughed, nodding, “This will clear it, Bobby. It’s about a secret government agency that monitors and fights aliens. It looks funny and Sam and I will take you, introduce you to movies in the 1990s.”

Nodding solemnly, he said, “I will mark my calendar. Other than slave labor around here, what’s on the social calendar this week? I know you’re going hunting Saturday for a few days, right?”

“If Sam finishes his book report,” Dean said firmly, eyeing his brother.

“I’m almost done reading!” he protested, kicking his brother under the table. “I’ll be finished by Thursday, like you told me.” Turning to Bobby, he said, “And Dean has another date on Thursday and we’re going to the pool on Wednesday.”

“But we are all yours until tomorrow night,” Dean said. “Our duffle is in the car and, if you need help, I can come over Wednesday instead of the pool. We can also come over Friday, too, to finish up.” Glancing behind him, he added with a grin, “And judging by the amount of stuff out there, the next couple of weeks.”

Popping the last bit of cruller in his mouth, Bobby said with a smile, “Then let’s stop wasting time and start earning your paycheck.” 

Sam smiled, “OK!”

Lifting one end of the old wooden crate that had been left leaning against the edge of the house for so long it had partially disintegrated, Dean sighed as it fell apart.

“Do you need help?” Sam called, looking up from the bin on the porch he was sorting. 

Dean shook his head, “I’m good but thank you.” Carrying the large part of the crate through the open end of the dumpster, he went back to start picking up the pieces.

Coming off the porch, Sam started helping. “I need a break from sorting,” he said, smiling and giving his brother a shrug. “It’s so boring and there’s spiders in there and one ran across my hand and almost up my arm before I got it off.”

He laughed, nodding and holding out his arms, “Here, load me up and we’ll finish this part together.”

Sam grinned, “OK. And maybe I can help carry some of the big stuff?”

Nodding as the last of the small wooden pieces were piled in his arms, he said, “Sounds good. Why don’t you go look around and see how much more big stuff is left while I get us something to drink.” Looking around, he added, “We’ve made really good headway but I could use a break. How about you?”

“Yes, please! I have dust and god only knows what else in my mouth and I’m sick of the spiders.”

He laughed, trying not to think of the possibilities of poisonous spider bites, and said, “I’ll meet you on the kitchen porch.” Tossing the wood pieces into the metal container, he headed around the side of the house, waving to Bobby who was overseeing the commercial hauling in the back. Momentarily eyeing the cold bottles of beer in the fridge, he sighed and instead took out the container of lemonade and poured two glasses. “Here you go, squirt,” he said, carrying the glasses out to the shade of the porch.

“Thanks!” he said with a sigh. Shaking his right hand slightly, he looked at his palm. “I think I got a splinter from that wood or maybe it’s a bit of rust from the metal crap I was sorting.”

He smiled, sipping at his drink. “Oh no, we’ll have to amputate! But I’ll make sure to cauterize the wound so we can still practice driving this afternoon around the yard. OK?”

Rolling his eyes, Sam nodded with a grin, “I appreciate that. Don’t want to get blood on the upholstery again. Remember how hard it was to get out after Dad took down that ghoul a couple of years ago?”

Dean laughed, nodding, “Yeah, that was gross for sure. And that was just blow back from the shotgun blast, nothing like having to amputate an arm.”

“Arm!” Sam said loudly, looking shocked. “Why not just my hand? Whatever it is, it’s just in my hand!” Grinning at his joke, he bumped against his brother, “So eager to cut off things, Dean!” He shrieked, giggling as the other man grabbed him and started to tickle him and rub his head. 

“We’re totally taking the arm, Sam!” he said, pulling him close and tickling him. “Can’t risk gangrene or anything!” he said, laughing. “You wouldn’t want that, would you?”

“Stop it, Dean!” he yelled, laughing and trying to squirm away. “I’ll risk it! I’ll risk it!”

Coming onto the porch, Bobby laughed, “Risk what? Stopping work now and telling me you’re done after just a few hours?”

Sam laughed, pulling away and shaking his head. “No, Dean wants to cut off my arm instead of just my hand so I don’t get gangrene.”

Looking between them, Bobby smiled, shaking his head. “You know, some men would ask questions here … like why and how and what but, luckily, with you two, I’ve learned not to bother. Just make sure you don’t get any blood on the carpet. It’s a pain to get out, even if you wash it quickly.”

“Bobby!” Sam cried, shaking his head. 

Dean laughed, reaching for his brother’s hand, saying, “Here, let me see how bad it is and how much time we have before we have to operate.”

Cautiously holding out his hand, he said, “Look only, no touching!”

“Uh huh,” Dean said, taking his brother’s hand and studying it. “It’s not too bad, I’m sure Bobby has tweezers. Give me a minute and we might be able to avoid major surgery.” 

Coming back out on the porch, Bobby put down a small first aid kit. “Here you go, Doctor. Let me know if you need a leather strap for him to bite down on or something while you operate.”

Sam laughed, trying to pull back his hand. “I’ll do it!”

Shaking his head, Dean held on tight, saying, “No, let me. It’s your right hand, Sam and it’s easier if I just do it.” He smiled and winked before saying, “You trust me, right?” When his brother nodded, he gave a maniacal laugh before grinning and starting to dig around in the kit with his free hand.

Rolling his eyes and laughing, Sam yelled, “Bobby! Dean’s acting weird and is too eager to do surgery on me! I think he’s possessed or something!”

“Just throw some holy water on him then and he’ll be fine,” Bobby yelled from inside the kitchen. “And remember what I said about the blood and carpet.” Cutting three slices of the banana bread he made the day before, he smiled, listening to them joke and tease each other. Carrying two plates out to the porch a few minutes later, he asked, “Surgery successful?”

Dean laughed, “Yeah, got the splinter and I think I saved the hand. We’ll know for sure as soon as Sam gets up to wash his hands.”

Rolling his eyes, the younger boy got up and went into the kitchen. “Did you make this bread, Bobby?” he yelled over the running water.

“I did,” he confirmed, “and I brought you a slice out here but grab the third plate in the kitchen and you can have that one instead.” Passing the other plate to Dean, he sat down and asked, “Good progress this morning?”

Taking a bite of the bread, he nodded, “Yeah, I think so.” He grinned, adding, “I can see grass and dirt and the house now in a lot of areas.” He laughed, ducking as Bobby swiped at him. “I do love this banana bread.”

He smiled, taking a bite, “Thanks. Since I made it at Christmas, I’ve kind of gotten into the habit of having it again. I make it once a month or so, now. When I was at the grocery store over the weekend, I decided to make it, seeing as you boys are always hungry.”

“It’s really good!” Sam said, coming back onto the porch and sitting down on the steps next to Dean. 

Putting down his bread, Dean held out his hand, “Let me see, please.”

Sam huffed, holding out his hand. “I washed it well, with soap.”

He grinned, “I’m sure but we’re still going to put a band-aid on it and if you’re going to help me load more, we’ll find some gloves for you.” Digging into the first aid kit, he pulled out a band-aid box and quickly applied one to Sam’s hand. “Done, now you can eat.”

“How’s the sorting coming, Sam?” Bobby asked.

He sighed slightly and shrugged, “It’s coming. I finished all the boxes and bins on the front porch and then Dean helped me drag all the stuff out from under the porch and I went through those. Then I found another pile under some stuff that Dean had moved.” He grinned, taking another bite, “It’s like just as I think I’m done, I find more! And more spiders but luckily no snakes and nothing bit me.”

The older man laughed, nodding, “Yep, sounds about right. If you play your cards right, you can power wash tomorrow.”

Sam grinned, “That’s much more fun than sorting!”

“Hey!” Dean protested. “Why does Sam get to do the fun stuff and I’m stuck lugging?”

He grinned, “Because Bobby likes me best!” He laughed, jerking his leg out of the way as his brother kicked him. 

Bobby rolled his eyes, “You two are a mess. Eat your bread, drink up, and let’s get back to work. I’m not paying you to sit on your butt, Sam.”

Sam snapped off a sharp salute, “Yes, sir! Ready to battle spiders to the death, if need be!”

Bobby laughed again, shaking his head, “I’m not asking you to defend the Alamo, kid.”

Dean snorted, “Give him a can of Raid and the battle is won.” Bumping against his brother, he grinned, “Or just call me, Sammy and I’ll kill them for you.”

Sam laughed, putting his hand to his heart and leaning against his brother, “My hero!” Giggling, he added, “What will you do if it’s a snake?”

He laughed, reaching out and grabbing his brother and tickling him. “Then, Sammy boy, you are on your own!” Rubbing his brother’s hair as the other boy squirmed and tried to get away, he said, “If Indiana Jones is allowed to hate snakes, I’m allowed to hate snakes.”

“Stop it, Dean!” he cried, laughing and trying to pull away. “Let me go! Bobby, help!”

Dean laughed, letting him go and saying, “Yeah, call Bobby if you see any snakes. He’ll help.”

The other man snorted, “I’ll give you a shovel, Sam and you can kill it.”

“Bobby!” Sam cried, horrified. “I can’t kill it! It’s just a snake! We should just move it out of the way somewhere!”

He looked at him, silently trying to decide how best to deal with that sort of response. Glancing at Dean, he saw the other man fully engrossed in his drink and trying hard not to laugh. “Let’s deal with this if you find a snake, OK?” Taking the last bite of his banana bread, he said, “Now, if you two have had enough of a break, let’s get back to work. The commercial haulers will be back this afternoon but, in the meantime, I can help you carry more big stuff, Dean, while Sam continues to sort and toss.”

“Sounds good,” he said. Standing up, he took their three plates back to the kitchen. He looked at Bobby who had followed him in and started laughing. “Kill it? Honestly, Bobby? You think Sam is going to kill a snake with a shovel?” Laughing, he shook his head as he rinsed the plates. 

Bobby chuckled and shrugged, “I don’t know. It’s a snake, it’s not like I suggested we kill a puppy or even a turtle!”

Looking over his shoulder, Dean laughed again, shaking his head. “Yeah, difference without distinction.” 

“Shut up, idjit,” Bobby said, shaking his head and then laughing. “You two …”

Dean laughed again. 

“So, swimming on Wednesday and a date on Thursday, huh?” Bobby asked casually, glancing over at Dean in the kitchen that evening. 

Looking up from the onion he was slicing into rings, Dean smiled slightly and shrugged. “Yeah, if you don’t need me around here.” Side stepping the date comment, he went immediately to Wednesday’s plans, “One of Sam’s friends can’t go to the pool without an adult … his mother worries and I don’t mind. I go, read, make sure no one drowns, make nice with some of the mothers, and we leave. Except for the screaming, it’s kind of a relaxing way to spend half a day.”

“Are there kids your age there, too?” he asked.

“Oh yeah,” Dean confirmed, cleaning the next onion. “The place is full and yes, before you ask, I do occasionally speak to them too. I don’t just keep to myself.”

The older man held up his hands, “Didn’t ask, wasn’t going to push, just making conversation.” He grinned, “But that’s good to hear. I think college will be good for you. I think you’re too mature for most high schoolers.”

Making a noncommittal noise, he said, “Speaking of which, you wouldn’t believe the amount of paperwork I need to fill out still and send back. Copies of this and copies of that and confirm that I’m super sure I’m not living in a dorm and whatnot. I have to pick up some stuff from my doctor to send in and then do orientation in August, which seems silly. Like it’s school, basically, just show up where and when I’m told to and I can figure out the rest.” 

Bobby laughed, “Well, it’ll be good to get a tour and figure stuff out, I’m sure.”

“Speaking of which,” he said, glancing through the open screen door toward the porch where Sam was sitting and reading. “I think I’m going to get Sam a cell phone. Should I buy one or do you have a guy?” he asked, smiling. “With him off doing stuff and that soccer camp that I still can’t even think about and then this fall, I want him to be able to easily get in touch with me or you, if there’s a problem.”

He smiled, “I have a guy and will get it. Next couple of weeks OK?”

“Yeah,” he said quickly, “no rush. It’s mostly for this fall when I’m an hour away. I figured I could give him my phone for camp, if need be.”

Coming over and sitting down, Bobby sighed slightly, “And what do you think is going to happen at camp, boy?”

Dean laughed, “I don’t know, that’s the problem.” He smiled, “Humor me, OK? It’s the first time that he’ll be gone for four nights and, like I said, I can’t even think about it. Him having a cell phone will at least make me slightly happier.”

Knowing there was no sense pushing the issue, he nodded, “I’ll get him something in the next couple of weeks. When’s camp? I want to mark it on my calendar so I can line up plenty of work for you around here, see if I can’t make you too tired to worry.”

He laughed again, nodding, “Sounds good to me. It’s the week of the July 21st, which, thanks to you, Sam can tell you is right after a full moon and when we should go hunting.”

Bobby laughed, “I told you, that wasn’t my fault! It just came out while we were talking. I forget sometimes that boy’s got a steel trap mind.” Standing up, he picked up the cutting board of onion rings, “Speaking of which, why don’t you take a break and send him in to help. He likes frying the onions and we’ll plan on eating soon.”

Standing up, he nodded, “I will officially pass kitchen duty to Sam.” Opening the screen door, he smiled as his brother looked up from the sofa on the porch. “You and your onion ring frying skills are being summoned.”

“Oh good!” he said, marking his place and tossing his book aside. “I’m starving!”

Holding the door open, he motioned toward the kitchen, “The sooner you get in here and help, the sooner we can eat.”

Sam laughed, “Bobby and I make the best onion rings.”

“Well, then get cooking because I’m hungry too,” he said. Going out onto the porch and sitting down on the sofa, he picked up Sam’s book, happy to see that, true to his word, his brother was almost done. He yawned, flipping to the beginning of the book and began to scan the opening diary entries of Jonathan Harker and his creepy journey.

OOooOOooOOoo


	3. June (pt. 2)

June – Continued (June 12th – 30th)

“You look like you’ve been out in the sun a lot lately,” Kimberly said with a slow grin Thursday afternoon. Leaning closer, she kissed him, adding, “Your freckles are all popping out and your eyes look even greener with your tan.”

He blushed, trying hard to ignore how close she was and how little clothes she was wearing. They had taken another picnic lunch to a secluded swimming hole off a branch of the river and had gone swimming after eating. Now, they were sitting next to each other on towels spread out on the beach along the water’s edge. “Working at my uncle’s Monday and Tuesday, he’s doing major yard work and I was helping him with stuff. And then, yesterday, I took Sam to the pool near the house so he could hang out with some friends.” 

She grinned, “I’m jealous! I got called in to work yesterday because some girl quit with no notice and I was stupid enough to answer the phone.” Laughing, she shrugged, “But the money was OK and it’s nice to pick up as many shifts as I can right now before school starts and I have to quit.”

“It’s hard to juggle everything,” he agreed. “I need to register for classes in a couple of weeks and I’ve been looking at the schedule and trying to figure out what would be the best break down. I’m taking six classes and it’s like … four and two or maybe three and three?”

“Nothing before 10:00am!” Grinning, she added, “At least for me and hopefully my roommate feels the same way. Living in a dorm is going to be weird but I’m looking forward to sleeping in and not having my mom banging on my door at 7:00 to get up and get moving. My dad is the worst though because he’s a morning person and thinks everyone should be.” She quickly grimaced and said, “Sorry. I shouldn’t …” Her voice trailed off as she glanced down at the sand before adding in a quiet voice, “Sorry.”

He smiled, shaking his head, “Don’t be sorry. You’re allowed to mention your parents, it’s not a big deal.”

Kimberly glanced at him, “Can I ask what happened to your mom? I mean, if you want to tell me.”

“Oh, it’s fine, he said easily, shrugging. “It was years ago, a house fire in the middle of the night. My dad got Sam from his crib and gave him to me to carry outside … I was almost 5 and Sam was just a baby. Then, he tried to get back to her too, but couldn’t. The fire spread quickly and sort of exploded, I think, lots of smoke …” He shrugged again, “I barely remember her.”

Picking up his hand, she smiled, “I’m sorry. That’s so sad.”

He smiled, determined to change the subject, and said, “Thanks but it’s OK.” Giving a small laugh, he added, “I’ve been Sam’s watcher and protector and over all rescuer his whole life. First, the monster under the bed and then the sea monster that lived in the bathtub …”

She laughed, “We had one of those, too! It lived in the drain and wanted to pull me inside every time I needed to take a bath!”

Dean nodded, “Yep, same monster, I think. Sam’s could be beaten back with a bright purple star shaped sponge he loved. And even yesterday, I saved him from a certain social catastrophe.” 

“What did you do?”

He sighed dramatically before shaking his head. “It was almost a disaster ….” 

She giggled again, “But you rescued him.”

Giving a small bow, he nodded. “We were at the pool, not that I’m allowed to sit anywhere near him and his friends and the other kids …”

“Of course not!” she agreed. “You’re old and not cool.” Leaning over, she kissed him again, “But I still like you.”

He grinned, kissing her back. “Thank you. Sam isn’t cool either, we’re still working on that.” Shrugging, he said, “So I’m discreetly watching him from across the way and I see a girl ask him to put suntan lotion on her back and I can see the social car cash coming ….”

Kimberly laughed again, “Tell me he didn’t squirt it on her back!”

“He was going to!” Dean said, laughing and shaking his head. “I could just see it playing out like some disaster movie so I quickly intervened. I got his attention and met him halfway around the pool for a quick chat. I gave him a few pointers and reminders about being a gentleman … don’t go to low, don’t even think about asking about undoing the back strap and no lingering … and then released him back into the wild.”

She laughed again, “And how did he do?”

Dean smiled, “Not bad at all! He put too much suntan lotion in his hand but not too much and then remembered not to wipe it off on her towel but to use his own towel, so solid B+ job. She looked happy and much more pleased with her choice of suntan lotion applicators then her friend who picked one of his friends and got a big glob of lotion right on the middle of her back.”

Laughing and turning slightly, she grabbed a small tube of suntan lotion from her bag and handed it to him and smiled. “Let’s see if your own actions are up to snuff.” Grinning, she laid down on her stomach, head resting on her folded arms. 

He grinned, “Do I have to be a gentleman?”

Laughing, she said, “No way … the lower the better, the strap can go and lingering sounds like fun to me.”

Giving a low chuckle, he leaned down and kissed her on the neck. “Your wish is my command.”

She laughed again, “And since you’re smart, I expect a solid A job.”

Kissing her again, he squirted a small bit of lotion into his hand and began to gently rub her back, quickly undoing the back strap of her bikini top with a low chuckle. “Want me to do the front, too?” he asked a few minutes later.

She laughed, “No.”

He gave a dramatic sigh before flopping down on his back on the towel. “You could do my front,” he said after a beat.

“No,” she giggled, shaking her head. “Speaking of being smart, I’m trying to decide if it’s too much science to tackle both chemistry and my first anatomy class this fall or if I should split them. What do you think?”

Laughing, he groaned, rolling over on his side and smiling at her. “And mood officially killed.”

Kimberly smiled, shaking her head. “I bet it takes more than that to kill your mood.”

He grinned, leaning over and kissing her quickly before settling back next to her. “OK, so let’s talk about this. How many chemistry and anatomy classes do you have to take total?” he asked. “Did the nursing program give you any recommendations?”

“I had fun today,” she said, smiling at him as he pulled into her driveway several hours later. 

“Me too,” he said, putting the car in park. “I’m going camping this weekend but will be home Tuesday afternoon.”

Leaning over, she kissed him, “So I’ll hear from you late Tuesday afternoon?”

“Definitely,” he said, kissing her back. “Maybe dinner and a movie at the park again next week? That was fun.”

She grinned, “Yeah. I’ll look up what’s playing and we can talk about it when you get home.” Walking with him to her door, she said, “Do you want to come in for a few minutes? I think my mom is home and I know she’d love to meet you.”

Glancing down at his dark red board shorts and t-shirt, he grinned. “I don’t think I’m really dressed to meet your mom. I should take a rain check.” 

She laughed, “Don’t be silly, you look fine. Come on …” Opening the door, she called out, “Hey! I’m home. Mom? Dean’s here, if you want to meet him!”

Trying hard not to grimace, he quickly smiled as an older woman came from the back of the house and into the hall. He held out his hand and took two steps closer to her, saying, “Hi, I’m Dean Winchester, it’s so nice to meet you Mrs. Matthis.” 

“So nice to meet you too, Dean. Kimberly has told us so much about you,” she said, shaking his hand and smiling. Looking between the two of them, she said, “Come on back into the kitchen, I was just looking at dinner. You can tell me all about your day. I understand you’re going to USD this fall, Dean?”

Reluctantly walking down the hall, Dean mentally look a deep breath and smiled before saying, “That’s right but I’m not sure what I’m going to major in.”

“Oh, plenty of time for that,” the older woman said. Motioning toward the stools at the kitchen island, she said, “Make yourselves comfortable and tell me how the hike and picnic went. What can I get you to drink?”

Driving away from the house 30 minutes later, Dean rolled his shoulders and tried to relax after feeling like he had been skillfully interrogated by a highly trained investigator, determined to pick out every one of his secrets. Luckily, he had been trained by a master and had easily deflected, sharing only what he wanted but also appearing open and forthcoming. Pulling out his phone, he quickly dialed his home number, slightly relieved to hear the machine pick up and left a message in case Sam got home before he did. Turning into their driveway 15 minutes later, he smiled as he saw his brother watering the flowers in front. 

Turning at the sound of the car, Sam grinned and aimed the hose at the car for a minute before laughing and turning back to the flowers. “Hey!” he called as Dean got out of the car. “How was your hot date?”

He laughed, coming over and giving his brother a quick hug and ruffling his hair. “It was good. How was your day? Did you have fun?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah and go look at the flier we got in the mail! It’s on the kitchen counter and Mrs. Lowe said you can talk to her about it.” He glanced over and smiled, “It’s a party.”

“A party? Like a birthday party?”

Rolling his eyes, Sam shook his head, “No, just a party party. It’s on the flier, we have to bring something.”

“What do we have to bring?”

Sam rolled his eyes again saying, “It’s on the flier.”

“OK,” he said, bumping against his brother and laughing. “Go get the flier, huh and read it before asking more questions?”

Sam laughed, “Yeah.”

“Dean, hi!”

Turning, Dean smiled at his neighbor. “Hi Sherry, Sam was just telling me about some flier that I have to read before I’m allowed to ask any more questions about some party.”

She laughed crossing the lawn separating the two driveways. “I’ll save the trouble and just tell you. Every year, the neighborhood hosts a block party at the end of June. It’s potluck, each street is assigned something and they block off Redbud, that little street with the big cul-de-sac, and everyone gets together. It’s fun and a good chance to meet the neighbors.” She smiled, “Our street is always assigned salad, which is easy enough. I hope you guys will come.”

He nodded, glancing at Sam who was listening. “It sounds like fun,” he said, lying easily. “It’ll be great to meet people and get to know more of the neighbors. What kind of salad do we need to bring?”

“Great!” she said, smiling. “And don’t stress about what to bring. A couple of years ago, I was slammed at work and Bob was traveling and we literally ran to Hy-Vee that morning and just pick up two containers of potato salad and called it a day. There’s always tons of food and whatever you bring will be perfect.”

Smiling, he said, “Sounds good! Count us in then.”

“You’ll have fun, I promise,” she said, nodding. “And Bob was telling me you offered up Sam as an expert flower waterer and mail picker upper when we’re on vacation.”

Dean laughed, “Yeah, just tell us when you’re going to be gone and we’ll take care of it.”

Lowering her voice slightly, she said, “Is it OK if we pay him $20? Is that too little?”

“That’s fine and you honestly don’t even need to pay him,” Dean said, shaking his head. 

“No, no, it’s fine,” she confirmed and then raised her voice. “Sam? Can Mr. Lowe and I hire you at the end of June, beginning of July, to pick up our mail and water our flowers? We’re going to be gone for about a week.”

Shutting off the water, Sam grinned and nodded. “Cool! Thanks! I’m happy to help.”

She smiled at him, “Great! I’ll let you know the exact dates in the next week or so and bring over a key, OK?”

He nodded, “OK!”

“I’ll let you guys go then and I need to figure out dinner, too, before Bob gets home. It’s my night to cook and we just did take out earlier in the week so I really should do something,” she said with a smile. “Have a great night and I’ll talk to you soon!”

“Night, Sherry,” Dean said before turning back to his brother. “Done watering?”

Sam nodded and began to roll up the hose. “What are we having for dinner? Can we do take out?”

He shook his head, “No, we have that left over pulled salsa chicken that we had at Bobby’s Tuesday night, remember? We’re going to make it into tacos; we already have everything for it.”

“Oh yeah,” he said before shrugging slightly. “That was good but Chinese is better.”

Dean laughed, bumping against his brother as they walked into the house. “Tell you what, we’ll do Chinese tomorrow night and then bring the leftovers camping with us for Saturday night’s dinner. Does that sound good? Mongolian beef over an open campfire?”

Sam grinned, “Yeah, sounds good.”

“Done cleaning up?” Dean asked as his brother came into the living room and sat on the couch next to him after dinner.

“Yep, dishes in the dishwasher, counter wiped, towel hung back up, and washrag folded neatly in the sink,” he said in a deadpanned voice before giggling. “Kitchen is ready for inspection.”

He laughed, bumping against his brother, “Good job and I’ll break out the white gloves in an hour or so when we get dessert. Do we have some cookies left to have with the ice cream?”

Sam glanced at him and gave a small shrug and embarrassed grin before saying, “I think I finished them this afternoon when I got home. I was starving.”

“You think you finished them?” he asked, grinning and bumping his brother again. “Are there any cookies left?”

“No,” he said, grinning again and then giggled as Dean begin to tickle him. “Stop it, Dean!”

He laughed, “So no thinking about it, huh, dude? You know you finished them.”

“Yes!” he cried, laughing and trying to curl up to protect himself. “Stop! I confess!” 

Letting his brother go, he shook his head and gave a dramatic sigh. “I guess we’ll have to make some more tomorrow and hopefully they’ll live long enough to make it to Saturday … a whole day.” He glanced at his brother, adding, “Maybe I should lock them up.”

Sam nodded solemnly, before laughing again as he said, “And maybe put iron and salt around them just to make sure they don’t go anywhere.” 

Pulling him in close, Dean kissed the top of his brother’s head and said, “Good idea, Sammy.”

He laughed again, “Thanks!” Putting his feet up on the coffee table next to Dean’s, he sighed slightly and moved in closer, settling in under his brother’s arm.

Adjusting his arm slightly around Sam, he picked up the remote and began to flip through the channels as he said, “Let’s see what’s on tonight …”

“Can I tell you something?” Sam asked quietly 15 minutes later as a Friends rerun went to commercial.

Glancing at him, he said, “Of course. You can tell me anything. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to tell you that I liked that you called to tell me, to leave a message, saying you were on your way home but were running a little late,” he said quickly. “I was sort of worried when I got home this afternoon and you weren’t here because you said you’d be home around 4:30 and it was close to 5:00. I thought you’d be home before me because you usually are and then … you weren’t.” He shrugged, “It was nice to get the message.”

Dean squeezed him, ruffling his hair gently. “And that’s exactly why I called and left the message. I didn’t want you to worry, would never want you to worry about me.”

Sam swallowed, “I don’t know what I’d do.”

“You would call Bobby,” Dean said firmly. “You know that. If I’m not home and you can’t get me on my cell phone, you call Bobby and he’ll come right away.”

He nodded, “I know but Bobby isn’t you.”

Dean smiled, “No, but nothing is going to happen to me, I promise.”

Sam nodded again, “Yeah.”

Kissing the top of his brother’s head again, he said, “It’s OK, Sam. I’m not going anywhere.” He gave him a gentle shake, “Well, except on Saturday we’re going to go hunt crazy haunted lights around a creepy lake but you’ll have my back, so no worries there. Right?”

He gave a small laugh and nodded, “Yeah. I’ll have your back and fight off the fairies. We’re good.” 

“Good, thank you,” Dean said. “And yes, it’s all good, we’re good.” He smiled as he felt Sam nod against him in agreement.

OOooOOooOOoo

Tapping the black box he put on the side table in their booth Saturday morning, Glenn said, “We’ve got a special customer coming this morning to pick these up. She’s already paid, so it’s just a pickup.”

Dean nodded as he finished putting up the third table across the front. Glancing at his boss, he said, with a grin, “Can I ask what’s in there?”

“You can ask …” he said with a grin. “You can even see, if you want.”

Glancing around to make sure none of the other vendors setting up were paying attention, he carefully opened the small box and stared at the four silver seven-point star shaped weapons nestled inside. “Are these like Chinese throwing stars?” he asked, putting the lid back on carefully before tucking the box away under the side table.

Glenn nodded, “Sort of. She gave me a sketch of what it needed to look like – star shaped, needed to have seven points or blades and made of silver. I mocked those up based on throwing stars and just adjusted the balance and lay out to accommodate the seven points.”

“Wow,” Dean said, very impressed. “That’s amazing you can do that.”

He laughed, setting up his grinder. “And I can also sharpen scissors and your gardening sheers!” Glancing up, he lowered his voice slightly, asking, “Any idea what they’re used for?”

Shaking his head, Dean said, “No, not really. Silver is powerful, the number seven is meaningful in a lot of culture but I can’t think of anything off the top of my head tied to a star shape.” He shrugged, adding, “And it could be that it’s not really a star, that might just be how we describe it now. To the original people, in their culture, it might be some sort of … interlocking representation of … the seven stages of life or crop growth or something.” Grinning, he said, “If she seems nice, I can ask. Some hunters, especially women, see educating the next generation as their duty or something. I’ll let her play wise teacher with me … and I don’t mean that in a porny sort of way, even though I think I saw that plot line one time.”

Glenn laughed, holding up his hands, “And that’s enough of that conversation thread! I don’t need Bobby on my case for corrupting his nephew! But your knowledge is pretty amazing, Dean. And I mean about what my special customers ask for, not porn! It’s fascinating to me.”

Giving an embarrassed shrug and half grin, he said, “Thanks. It’s normal for me, at this point. I’m just glad I can help.” Turning back to setting up the table for their regular customers, he silently mulled over the other man’s words and was surprised at how much they made him smile. 

An hour later, while the Farmers’ Market crowd was just starting to pick up, he smiled as a small, older woman with a long gray braid made eye contact as she made her way to their table. “Hi, may I help you?” he asked, eyeing the standard reusable tote bag half the customers seemed to carry and silently debated if she had scissors, gardening sheers, or a cooking knife in the bag.

She smiled back at him and said, “I’m a special customer and I hope you can help me.” Then, spying Glenn in the back, said, “I’m guessing that’s Glenn?” 

Dean nodded, mentally kicking himself for making assumptions based on her appearance, “Yep and we have your box for you. Let me get it for you.”

Seeing her standing there and the black box in Dean’s hand, Glenn shut off the grinder and smiled, asking, “Geela?” When she nodded, he came over, quickly wiping his hands on a cloth before shaking hers. “So nice to meet you after our conversations on the phone.”

“Yes! You too!” she said, enthusiastically. Discreetly opening the box, she studied the stars for a moment and then smiled. “You do amazing work. Based on your reputation, I knew it would be good but these are perfect.”

He grinned, “Thank you! It was a fun challenge and I’m glad they turned out so well. Each star is perfectly balanced and extremely sharp. The tips are created with an alloy so the point and edge should hold up fairly well.”

Watching them, Dean smiled at her. “Do you mind if I ask what you’re going to do with those?”

She glanced at Glenn for a second and then smiled at Dean before asking, “I’m guessing you know what special means?”

He nodded, “Yeah. I’ve been in the life basically my whole life. My father taught me.”

Patting him on the back, Glenn said, “I’ll let you two talk but let me know when you need those sharpened, Geela, or if you need anything else.” 

“And who is your father?” she asked, glancing behind her to make sure no one was waiting.

“John Winchester,” Dean said simply. “And I’m good friends with Jim Murphy and Bobby Singer.”

Giving him a quick nod, she said, “A Tzitzimitl up in Alaska or maybe several of them, we’ll see. It’s an Aztec demon that supposedly comes from the stars during a solar eclipse and possesses a man to take over the world.” Her voice was firm, matter of fact and no different than if she was talking about a type of bird she had seen at her backyard feeder. “The path of the solar eclipse back in March crossed over Alaska, which is when the Tzitzimimeh descend to earth. Not long after, the CEO of one of the largest oil refineries up there started acting weird and several other strange events started in the area. A friend reached out and I said I’d come up and help.” Giving a wry smile, she added, “I’ve tackled these things a few times over the years. They’re weakest during the summer solstice, which is in about a week and I’ll take every bit of help I can.”

“Cool,” he said, smiling at her. “That’s pretty neat. I hope you get it.”

She tapped the box and smiled at him, “Me too, kid.” Waving again to Glenn, she said, “Now I’m off to get some bread and fruit before I leave on Monday. Have a good day and be careful.”

Watching her weave her way through the crowd for a moment, he turned his attention back to a couple standing at the table. “Hi, may I help you?”

Carefully handing him two knives, the blades wrapped in newspaper, the man said, “Yeah, can we get these sharpened, please?”

“Of course! Go ahead and write out your info for me and you can pick them up in about …” He glanced behind him at the waiting orders, quickly judging the time and said, “Probably 45 minutes.”

“Perfect,” the guy said as his wife wrote out their names on the pad of paper. 

“Did you know that tomorrow is Father’s Day?” Sam asked, glancing over at Dean that afternoon.

Dean nodded, “Yeah.” Taking his eyes off the road for a minute, he smiled at his brother before turning his attention back to the interstate. “Do you want to do something in honor of Dad or to … remember him or something?” he asked.

He shrugged, “I don’t know.” Then sighing, he said, “I always remember him, I think about him almost every day.” Looking out the window, he asked quietly a minute later, “Do you?”

“Yes,” he said firmly. “Basically every day, Sammy. No matter what day it is, he’s always there. I hear him in my mind a lot.” Forcing himself to smile at the idea, he ignored the fact that the frequent litany was of things he wasn’t doing well enough, things he couldn’t forget, and what his father’s exacting expectations were for … everything.

“Yeah.”

Glancing over the younger boy again, he mulled over what to say. A minute later, he added, “And really … we’re going on a hunt, you’re going to figure out what’s going on at Roy Lake and those will-o’-the-wisps lights or fairies or whatever they are and I’m going to help you.” He smiled, “That seems like something Dad would have loved to help with and be really pleased that we’re doing this fun job.” Like so many other lies in the last 10 months, it came out easily and effortlessly. 

Sam laughed slightly, nodding. “Yeah, he would. I think that’s a good way to honor his holiday.”

“Sounds good to me,” he said. Tapping the map and directions in his brother’s lap, he said, “So pay attention and make sure we don’t get lost.”

He grinned, “We won’t and I even know it’s in Marshall County!”

Laughing, Dean shook his head, saying, “And you thought that knowledge would never come in handy!”

Sam rolled his eyes, “Whatever, Dean, still don’t make up for having to memorize it.”

“Oh cool, bunk beds!” Sam said, walking into the small cabin by the lake they had rented. “I want the top bunk!”

“You can have both,” Dean said, motioning with his head toward a small bedroom off the main room. “I have my own bedroom.” Carrying the cooler in, he put it down in the small kitchen area. “Why don’t you unpack the food and I’ll get the rest of the stuff from the car.”

Sam made a face but nodded, “OK.” Quickly starting to unpack their food, he called, “When we’re done with this, can we go swimming or something?”

“Let’s finish unpacking and then we’ll talk,” he said, dropping his brother’s duffle bag on the bottom bunk and carrying his own bag into his bedroom.

“Done!” Sam said, several minutes later.

Coming back into the main room, he nodded, “Thanks. OK … so, this afternoon?” Pulling out one of the dining table chairs, he sat down. 

Sam nodded, “Yeah. Can we go swimming?”

“We could,” he said slowly, trying to find the right balance between how he was trying to raise his brother and how he was taught to work from their father. “But, if you are interested in figuring out those lights, we need to get a lay of the land now, during the day. We can look at your notes, look at what the lore says, and do that sort of leg work so we can go out safely and productively tonight.” Smiling, he shrugged and said, “Or, if you’re not interested in that, yeah, we can walk down to the beach and go swimming. We can do whatever you want but we’re going to be safe. If we don’t do the leg work now, we’re not going out tonight; it wouldn’t be safe.” He smiled again, “It’s your show, your choice, Sammy.”

“So, if we go swimming, we can’t go hunting tonight?” he asked, making a face.

Dean nodded, “Right or at least, we have to do the work first and then, if there’s time, we can go swimming later but not until all the leg work and research is done and we have a plan for tonight. It’s not safe otherwise.” Watching his brother think about it, he said, “Remember, research and being prepared is as important or even more important than being willing to go charging into a situation, guns blazing.”

Sam sighed, glancing out the window before giving a quick nod. “Yeah, you’re right and it’s just a lake and things live in lakes and I don’t want anything touching me when I swim.”

He laughed, “Right, there is that.” Nodding toward the duffle on the lower bunk, he said, “Grab your notes and research and let’s plan out our attack.”

Grinning, Sam nodded, “Yeah! Fight the fairies! We’re going to take down Tinker Bell!” He laughed as he dug through his duffle back and pulled out a black and white composition book he was using for a journal. “Do you have Dad’s journal?”

Dean nodded, “Yep, I brought it with me. We can’t go on a hunt without it, can we?” Passing by his brother, he bumped him gently and ruffled his hair, “Good call, Sam. We’ll have plenty of fun, too, I promise.”

“Yeah,” he said, smiling and moving back to the table and opening his notebook. “OK, so this says the lights start showing up at dusk and in June, sunset is around 9:25.” Looking up as Dean sat down, he asked, “So when is dusk? Is that before or after sunset?”

“Dusk starts at sunset, I think,” he said. “It’s the time when it’s getting dark but not totally dark yet. If sunset is at 9:30, basically, and people start seeing the lights at dusk, think about when you want to get in position.”

Sam nodded, “OK. And they’re mostly seen in this area.” Putting his finger on the copy of a map stuck in the book, he leaned across the table and showed Dean. “You think we can find it?”

He nodded, “I bet we can. What else does it say?”

Trying hard not to yawn, Dean shifted on the rock he was sitting on that evening. They had scouted out the area, finding the locations Sam had marked on his map, and found good places to watch once it got dark. Just after 9:00, after they had cleaned up from dinner, they had headed out and were now sitting on two large rocks with a clear view of two key sights. 

“People have seen lights multiple times from over there,” Sam said pointing toward a small island just offshore. “Some stuff I read said that they’ve found Native American artifacts all over this area and that the island may have been a burial ground.”

He nodded, “Sounds good. After everything we’ve done to the Indians, I’m always surprised they aren’t involved with more hauntings.”

“Native Americans, Dean,” Sam said, sighing. 

“Right, right,” he said, laughing softly and bumping against his brother. “Native Americans.”

“Do you think we’ll see anything?” he asked ten minutes later as he shifted on his rock, looking around. 

Dean smiled, “Patience grasshopper.” Laughing softly, he jerked his foot away as his brother kicked him. “Do you want to go walk around? It’s hard to know if they come out when they think they’re alone or don’t care and if we walk around, we may see something.” He paused, letting his words sink in before saying, “Your call, squirt. What feels right to you?”

Huffing slightly, he said irritably, “I don’t know! What do you think we should do?”

Opening his backpack quietly, he pulled out a plastic bag with cookies and held it out. “Here, have a couple of cookies. Let’s eat these, give it another 10 minutes, and then, if we still haven’t seen anything, maybe cross the bridge and check out the island. We know where the path is.”

Sam smiled, taking two cookies. “Right because we saw it this afternoon and walked it and I bet we can find the spots with those signs that talk about where the Native American artifacts were found nearby. If they’re Indian ghosts, I bet they would be around where their artifacts were found.”

Taking two cookies for himself, Dean kicked Sam lightly, “Native Americans, Sammy.” In the dark, looking out over the lake and listening to the sounds of the woods and Sam shifting next to him, he immediately thought of all the other camping trips they had been on over the years. Up until the last few years, it had been his job to keep the younger boy entertained, safe, and out of trouble. That had usually involved games, books, and plenty of snacks. “Do you want to play 20 Questions?” he asked a minute later, the memory of their endless games suddenly popping into his mind.

Sam turned to him, grinning in the dark and laughed. “Yeah! We haven’t played that in ages. Do you want to go first or me?” Taking another bite of cookie, he added, “That was always fun to play in the car, better than I Spy.”

Bumping him, he said, “That’s because you cheat, Sam!”

“Do not!” he said huffing and laughing. “You just sucked at it!” Eating the last of his cookie, he said, “OK, just for that, I’m going first! And, I have something … it’s a food!”

Dean laughed, “With you, I’m not surprised.” Holding out the bag for his brother to grab another cookie, he said, “OK … first question … is it something that you personally like to eat?”

Holding up a finger to count, Sam nodded, “Yes.”

“Is it something that I personally like to eat?”

“Hmmm,” Sam said, thinking. “I think so or at least you eat it and don’t complain or anything and you cook it so I think you like it.”

Dean smiled, “OK, so count that as two because if we or I cook it was going to be my next question anyway.”

Holding up 3 fingers, Sam giggled, “OK, then I should add that you or we personally cook it. Not just like in general … like a general ‘you cook it’. We actually cook it ourselves.”

He smiled, nodding. “Got it.” Thinking for a minute, he asked, “How about … do we only cook it on special occasions or for holidays? Not just like a normal Tuesday?”

Sam shook his head, “Nope, not just special occasions.” Then, gasping slightly, he whispered, “Dean! Look! The island!”

Looking, he smiled as he saw faint glowing areas of light coming from the edge of the island across the small strip of water. It was faintly yellowish and seemed to pulse slightly but didn’t move too far from the spot. “Very cool,” he said softly. When his brother didn’t move, he asked quietly, “Do you want to go investigate or do you want to sit here and watch it?”

He nodded slowly before standing up and saying, “Let’s go investigate it.”

Reaching into his backpack, Dean handed him the bag of herbs Bobby had gotten them, instinctively glancing down to confirm that his brother was wearing the iron bracelet he put on in the cabin. “Here you go,” he said as he stood up. “Are you clear on Bobby’s instructions?”

He nodded again, “Yeah.” Smiling, he bumped against Dean as they walked toward the bridge leading to the island. “And remember, don’t clap your hands if I do good.”

Dean chuckled, “What? Why?”

Giggling, Sam said, “Because in Peter Pan, you save Tinker Bell by clapping. And if we put down a fairy, I don’t want you screwing it up because you clap at my brilliance.” 

Staring at him for a moment, he finally laughed and grabbed his brother, ruffling his hair. “You have my word, Sam, no clapping. I’m no longer surprised by your brilliance.” He hugged him quickly and laughed again, muttering, “Yeah, Dad, Bobby, and now Peter Pan … I guess we take knowledge where we can get it.”

Sam giggled again and said, “Damn straight.”

Carefully trailing behind his brother as they made their way to the general area where they had seen the light, Dean couldn’t help but smile at the situation and the hunt they were on. Idly, he wondered what their father would have said about it and was immediately hit with the cold realization that John would have thought it stupid, a waste of time, and never allowed them to do something he would have considered a farce. “See it?” he asked in a low whisper as they came around the corner.

He nodded, stopping on the path and staring at the flickering, dancing lights interspersed with the water reeds along the shoreline. “Should we get closer?” he asked in a low whisper.

Watching the lights, Dean put a hand on Sam’s shoulder holding him in place. He wasn’t sure what the lights were but it didn’t look like fireflies now that they were closer and certainly wasn’t lights reflecting from anything nearby. “No,” he said softly. “Let’s hang back and see what it does.” Studying the pulsing lights, watching them come together for a moment before breaking apart, he added, “I’m not sure what this is.”

“Yeah,” Sam said softly, his eyes fixed on the lights. 

A slight rustling came from the tall grasses to their right, causing Dean to turn toward the sound. Taking a step closer, he reached into his belt loop and pulled a long silver knife from its holder. He studied the grass in front of him but saw nothing. Taking two steps closer, he scanned the area again, looking for movement or anything to catch his eye. A sound to his left caused him to turn and he saw Sam taking several small steps closer to the lights. “Sam, stop,” he hissed.

Sam stopped, blinking several times and shaking his head slightly before nodding. “Sorry,” he said, glancing back at his brother and smiling. “I just was curious and like … I wanted to see. It was like … calling me or something.”

Coming back to his brother’s side and trying hard not to think too much about what his brother just said, he nodded, “That’s fine but don’t get any closer.”

“Should I try those herbs and the spell that Bobby gave me?” he asked. 

Studying the lights again, Dean nodded. “Sure, let’s see what happens. A lot of times, we only have an educated guess as to what we’re dealing with and that’s this situation.”

Sam pulled out the packet of herbs and the banishing spell that went with them and knelt on the ground. “Can I have your lighter?” he asked, glancing up.

Scanning the area still around them, Dean dug into his pocket and pulled out the lighter. “Do you know how to use it?” Even in the dim moonlight, he could see his brother roll his eyes. “Sorry,” he said, grinning. 

Sam laughed before saying in a very patient tone, “Yes, Dean, I know how to use a lighter.” Pouring the herbs in a straight line, he laid a small piece of paper at one end and set it on fire. As the herbs began to burn, he began to read the Gaelic Bobby had written out for him phonetically, “Leig seachad an ceangal sin …”

Focusing his attention on the lights as they began to clump tighter together, he stepped in front of Sam, “You’re doing good, Sammy,” he said, eyes still fixed on the lights.

“Agus smàl an solus sin …” he muttered, glancing up to see what was happening. “I can’t see what it’s doing,” he complained, trying to see around his brother.

“Keep reading,” Dean ordered firmly. A second later, he frowned, shifting his knife in his hand as the now almost solid ball of light began to buzz loudly and pulse. 

“Agus cum dùinte an geata uamhasach seo!” Sam said loudly as the last of the herbs caught fire and began to turn to fine ash.

At the same time, Dean bent down, yanking his brother up, holding him close, and turning his back to the light shooting toward them and shielding Sam with his body. He felt something lightly brush against his back and a brief puff of wind.

“Dean!” Sam yelped, closing his eyes. A second later, when it clear that nothing else was going to happen, he laughed, grinning. “Cool! Did you see what I did?” 

Taking a deep breath, Dean relaxed slightly, loosening his hold on Sam and scanning the area for threats. Not seeing or hearing anything, he laughed, shaking his head. “Hell, Sam, that was … something.”

Sam laughed again, nodding. “Yeah! Did you hear that buzzing? I wonder if that was their language or if they were trying to scare us off or what?”

He shook his head, smiling, “Not sure but it was certainly loud.” Holding out his hand for a high five, he said, “Great job, Sammy.”

Slapping his brother’s hand, he grinned and nodded. “Yeah!” Then, added, “Not really sure what I did but it was cool!”

Bumping against him, Dean nodded. “Good way to put it because yeah, not really sure what that was but it’s gone now. So … score!” Tucking his knife back into its holder and grabbing his backpack, he said, “But let’s not hang around and see how long your banishing spell works.”

He grinned, “Yeah and I want to call Bobby and tell him!”

“It might be too late,” Dean said, pushing his brother slightly to start walking toward the bridge. “Let’s go, Sam,” he muttered when the younger boy stopped again, looking back toward where the lights had been.

Bouncing slightly, he laughed, shaking his head, “It won’t be too late! Bobby will want to hear all about it, I know.”

“OK,” he said as they crossed the bridge. “We’ll call him when we get back to the cabin, assuming I have service on my phone.” As they turned to go back up the trail toward the beach and cabin, he looked behind them, scanning the lake and island. Taking a deep breath, he felt himself relax another fraction as he saw nothing. 

“And then it started buzzing really loudly,” Sam said into the phone 30 minutes later. “But I kept reading what you gave me and made sure the herbs all burned and then Dean yanked me up to stand with him and it shot out at us and then disappeared!”

“Very cool,” Bobby said, smiling. “I’m glad the spell and herbs worked for you. I’ll have to let the lady I got them from know.”

“Yeah,” Sam said before yawning. “It was perfect.” Touching his bracelet, he said, “And I wore that bracelet you gave me too and Dean had his silver knife, so we were prepared.”

He smiled, glancing at the clock on his nightstand. “Sounds like it and sounds like you’re almost ready for bed, too.”

Sam nodded, “Yeah.”

“OK, why don’t you let me talk to your brother for a minute and you get off to bed,” he said. “It’s almost midnight.”

“Good night, Bobby,” Sam said, before handing the phone to Dean. “Here, Bobby wants to talk to you.”

Taking the phone, Dean smiled, “OK. Go take a shower and get ready for bed while I talk.” Sitting down on the sofa in the main room, he said into the phone, “Hey Bobby, how are you?”

He chuckled, “I’m good and it sounds like you boys had a fun night.”

“Yeah, we did. Sam did great and I’m not sure what we banished but something went poof. It sure as hell wasn’t fireflies, swamp gas, or car lights. It was … something.” Glancing at the salt lines he poured across the door and cabin windows, he added, “But I’ve salted the cabin so it’s not getting in here, even if it comes back and knows where we are.”

Not surprised the younger man would think along those lines, Bobby nodded. “Good thinking, no sense taking chances. I’m really happy that it went so well and Sam had fun.” He paused before asking, “And did you have fun?”

Dean laughed softly, glancing at the now closed bathroom door and the sound of the shower going. “Yeah, except for the brief flashes of terror when it came charging for us and I’m rapidly trying to decide if I protect Sam or try to fight. I went with protect and that turned out to be the right decision.” Taking a deep breath, he said quietly, “It was a little scary though just to be with him and not have any back up. I’m so use to hunting with Dad … knowing that someone had my back while I guarded Sam’s … But … it was good, fine, he had fun but we’re keeping it at this level for a while.” He laughed, adding, “My nerves can’t take anything more dangerous.”

“I hear you,” Bobby said, laughing. “You need to get to bed yourself, you’ve had a busy day, too. Why don’t we plan on dinner Tuesday so you don’t have to worry about it?”

“Sounds good,” he confirmed, smiling as Sam came out of the bathroom now dressed in boxers and a t-shirt. “Just come over any time late Tuesday afternoon. We’ll be back around 2:00 and are planning on being at your house later in the week to help clean.” Wrapping up and saying goodnight before closing the phone, he shifted slightly as Sam sat down next to him on the couch. Hugging him, he said, “You did great tonight, Sammy. Really, really good.”

He grinned, “Thanks!” Taking a deep breath, he sighed slightly, “It was a lot of fun, just you and I doing it.”

“Yeah,” he grinned. Bumping his brother slightly, he said, “So what was your food?”

Twisting slightly, Sam glanced at him before grinning and remembering their game. He shook his head, “Nope, you still have 16 questions to guess it.”

“We’ll finish up tomorrow then,” he said, kissing his brother’s head. Standing up, he held out his hand and hauled Sam up, “But now, bed. I’m going to go take a shower so you can read for a few minutes before lights out.”

Sam nodded, yawning and heading toward the bunk beds. “And then tomorrow, we can go swimming,” he said. 

He laughed, “Yeah, we’ve earned it.”

OOooOOooOOoo

“I thought we were told to bring a salad,” Sam said, frowning and looking at the recipe on the counter Friday afternoon. Shaking his head, he added, “You’re not making the right thing, Dean. That’s wrong.”

Closing his eyes briefly, he took a deep breath, forcing himself not to snap at his brother even as the whinny and accusatory tone grated like nails on a chalkboard. “It’s not wrong,” he said slowly, looking up from the grocery list he was writing. Nodding toward the recipe, he said, “What’s that article’s title?”

“I don’t know,” he said, still frowning. “It’s just some pictures and a couple of different recipes, none of which are salad!”

“Then flip like a page back, Sam, and look. It’s not hard, you know how that magazine works and how recipes are laid out,” he snapped back. He was tired, had a headache, and could feel his to do list pressing down on him. He and Kimberly had been out late the night before for dinner and the movies, which had been fun but also took time away from everything else he needed to do and made him feel guilty. It hadn’t helped that they were both tired from working around Bobby’s Wednesday, Thursday, and most of today, after getting home on Tuesday.

Pushing the magazine across the counter, Sam shook his head. “It doesn’t matter what it says, it’s wrong! We were told to bring a salad and that’s not a salad. No one is going to eat what you’re making because it’s weird.”

“It’s not wrong or weird, Sam, trust me. It’s just a pasta salad instead of a green salad, a salad salad,” he said. “This isn’t a school assignment, no one really cares as long as we bring something.” Trying to keep his voice light and confident he said, “I’ve got to go to the grocery store tonight to get this stuff. Do you want to come with me or do you want to stay home? It’ll just take a few minutes but I’ve got to get the stuff for the recipe because I didn’t do it earlier because I didn’t have time. If I don’t make it tonight, we’ll really be rushed tomorrow.”

Sam frowned, “Because you were out with the Chili’s Girl. If you had stayed home last night, we could have gone then, when we were at Bobby’s. Instead, you went out and I got stuck home alone.”

“You weren’t home alone; you were at Bobby’s and he was there and you said you liked the meatloaf he made. We had it today for lunch as sandwiches and you said, again, that it was good.”

He shook his head, frowning, “I was being polite.”

Unable to listen to any more of his brother’s tone, he said, “OK, I’m going upstairs to shower and change because I’ve been working all day and I’m gross. If you want to come to the store with me, you have to do the same; your jeans and shirt are filthy.”

Still frowning, he shook his head again, “I don’t want to go.”

“That’s fine, you can stay home alone but I don’t want you going out because it’s the solstice tomorrow,” he said, straining to keep his voice even. “Too many things are out and about and way too many spells and rituals happen on the solstice.”

“I know, Dean!” he shot back, rolling his eyes. “You already told me and I know. I’m not some stupid kid that has to be reminded all the time about basic stuff. I know all about it already.”

He nodded, biting his tongue again before saying, “Good.” Walking up the stairs, he quickly undressed and threw his clothes in the almost full hamper. Stepping into the shower, he closed his eyes, trying to push down the rising feelings of frustration and stress at how the afternoon was unfolding. Letting the water pour over his head, he did his best to ignore his father’s scolding tone in his head, pointing out how he was once again failing. He could feel the tears building up and, taking several shaky breaths, pushed it down and focused on getting through the next couple of hours and not killing his brother.

“I’m going to bed early tonight. Can I trust you to turn off the lights and tv and everything by 10:00 and go to bed on your own?” Dean asked just before 9:00 that night. His headache had receded slightly with dinner but between making the pasta salad, washing and folding two loads of laundry with Sam’s reluctant help, and dinner, he hadn’t sat down until almost 8:00. His brother’s tone had improved slightly but they were both still tired and on edge with each other. 

Sam glanced at him from the love seat he was stretched out on, nodding. “Are you OK?”

Standing up, he ruffled his brother’s hair and yawned, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a long few days and I’ve got to get up early tomorrow.”

Studying him for a second, he frowned slightly before turning off the TV. “I’m ready for bed, too. There’s nothing on that I care about and I’ll finish my library book so we can return it when we go to lunch tomorrow.”

“OK,” he said, concentrating on not sighing at the lost time to himself, as he quickly flipped off the lights and followed Sam up the stairs. “Go take a shower,” he said, nodding toward the hall bathroom, “and get ready for bed.”

“And you’ll be in later?” he asked after a long moment, pausing in his bedroom door.

Dean nodded, “Right, I’ll be in in a few minutes.” Going into his own bedroom, he closed the door, sighing. Quickly changing into clean boxers and an old t-shirt and brushing his teeth, he moved back into the bedroom and flopped back on the bed. Throwing an arm up over his eyes, he swallowed hard, unable to stop the tears from coming. It had been a long evening and days like these made him ache deeply for their father and the simplicity of their old life, his old responsibilities, and for everything not to be resting on his shoulders, where every action felt judged, and being constantly on edge, waiting to hear how lacking it, he, had been found. In the past, he only felt judged by John but now, he felt multiple eyes on him, from the curious neighbors to Kimberly and her watchful, leery parents, to Bobby who complained because he got back to the house right at the stroke of midnight because he had calculated the unfamiliar distance wrong. And, of course, John’s voice still ringing in his head critiquing how he was taking care of Sam, maintaining the house, keeping up appearances, and doing it to the high, perfect level of expected excellence. Sitting up and curling into himself, he buried his face in his hands, silently sobbing as his head throbbed. 

“Dean? I’m out of the shower …” Sam said, knocking lightly on the closed bedroom door. 

“Good, I’ll be in to see you in a few minutes,” he said hoarsely, forcing his voice to sound at least somewhat normal. 

“OK,” he said after a moment.

Forcing himself to stand up, he walked into the bathroom and blew his nose and washed his face, trying to hide the fact that he had been crying. “Ready for bed, Sam?” he asked, walking into his brother’s bedroom 15 minutes later. 

Sam looked up from the book he was reading and nodded before asking, “Yeah and I’m almost through with my book so can we return it to the library tomorrow, OK? We’re still going to lunch together, right?”

Sitting down on his brother’s bed, he nodded and smiled, “Of course! It’s Saturday and I always owe you a lunch anywhere you want for finishing all your chores while I’m working. We’ll hit the library, too, and then come back and the block party starts at 4:00.” Tapping his brother’s book, he said, “What did you think? Are you going to read the next one?”

He smiled, “Yeah! It’s really good like you said and I like Rand. Do you believe in reincarnation?”

“Way too deep of a question for this late at night, dude,” he said with a smile. “Ask me at lunch tomorrow and we’ll talk about it, OK?” 

Sam smiled, “Cool.” Studying his brother, he asked in a quiet voice, “Are you OK?”

Taking a deep breath, he smiled slightly, “I’m tired but I’m OK.”

“Kind of missing Dad?” he asked softly, before shrugging slightly.

Dean took another deep breath, feeling his eyes tear up immediately at the question. Swallowing, he nodded, “Yeah, I am but that’s OK. It’s normal to miss him and we’re allowed to miss him and be upset and sad about him being gone.” Brushing back a couple of tears that fell down his checks, he gave his brother a small smile, “It’s just been a busy week, Sammy. I’m OK and we’re good.”

He nodded, “Yeah.”

Studying him for a minute, waiting to see if his brother wanted to say anything else, he stood up and leaning over, kissed the top of Sam’s head. “OK, I’m trusting you to turn your light out on time because I’m going to bed. Love you, sleep well.”

Sam smiled, “You too.”

Shutting his bedroom door behind him a moment later, he flipped off the light and crawled into bed. Rolling onto his side, he felt the tears come again as he thought about the simple routine of making sure they were both safe at night and how many times in the last 14 years, he had been solely responsible for making sure his brother was tucked in and knew that he was loved. Bedtime routines and rituals were never something John had cared about and, once Dean was 7, he was often not home until well after midnight anyway. He had a vague memory of their mother tucking him in at night and he had tried to recreate that for Sam the first few years. As the years went on, it had slowly evolved and was part of their normal routine that they carried from hotel to hotel and house to house. 

OOooOOooOOoo

“Will you wash the baby tomatoes in the bag on the counter for me?” Dean asked, nodding toward the paper bag he had brought home from the Farmers’ Market. Pulling out the pasta he had cooked the night before, he said, “Do you want to cut them, too? Or do you want to shave the parmesan and rip up the basil?”

Sam giggled, asking, “We’re going to eat baby tomatoes?”

Dean grinned, “Yeah, or whatever they’re called. They’re really tiny, about the size of big marbles. Cherry tomatoes, maybe or maybe those are just the red ones? They’re cool looking and all different colors.” Opening the refrigerator for the herbs and dressing, he said, “Open the bag and check ‘em out, they’re kind of pretty. Martie, the lady I got them from, grows them on her farm. I told her what we were making and what I was looking for and she picked them out for me.”

“Cool,” he said, grabbing the colander from the cabinet and dumping the tomatoes into it. “Some of these are purple!” he said, laughing again. “These are so cool and really pretty.” Digging into the strainer, he held up a tiny bright red one, “Look how tiny this one is! Do you think it’s full grown?”

Glancing at it, Dean shrugged, “No idea but I’d guess so. Don’t cut that one in half, we’ll use those as is.” He smiled, glad they were both in a better mood after a good night sleep and Sam’s testy and argumentative mood from the day before had been replaced by his normal enthusiasm and general happiness. “So, you’re washing and cutting some of those or doing the parm and basil?”

“I’ll do these,” he said, turning on the water and rinsing the tomatoes. Glancing at his brother, he said “These are cool, people are going to be so impressed.”

Pulling out a knife from the block, he put it and a cutting board on the counter near his brother and nodded, “I hope so.” He bumped against him gently, “God knows we live to impress the neighbors, right?”

“Damn straight!” Sam said, laughing again before grabbing a paper towel to pat the tomatoes dry before cutting some in half.

Unwrapping the small block of parmesan cheese he had put out on the counter before they left for lunch, Dean quickly shaved off multiple pieces with their potato peeler and put them into a small bowl to add at the last minute.

“That’s really neat,” Sam said, watching him. “How did you know how to do that?”

He grinned, “I asked one of the vendors at the market this morning who makes homemade Italian take and bake stuff, I figured he’d know and he did.” Leaning against the counter, he watched his brother carefully cut most of the tomatoes in half and then toss them into the bowl of cold tortellini and tiny mozzarella pearls with the ripped basil. “Looks good, Sam. Perfect.” He quickly stirred it to distribute everything and make sure it was coated in the dressing he had poured over the night before. “We’ll add the parmesan cheese right before we bring it.” Glancing at the clock, he said, “Why don’t you put it back in the fridge for us and I’ll find something to watch on TV. We don’t need to walk over for an hour or so.”

Sam nodded, “OK.”

Moving his arm a minute later as his brother came and sat next to him on the sofa, Dean asked, “Baseball? The Cubs are playing Colorado.”

He shrugged, moving closer and curling up slightly against Dean, “That works.” A long moment later, he said, “The salad looks good.”

Glancing at him, he smiled, “Thanks. I thought so and I think people will like it. It was easy, you know, but looks sort of impressive with the tortellini instead of just regular pasta and neat tomatoes.”

Sam nodded again, “And easy is important.”

Dean laughed, nodding, “Exactly.”

“I’m sorry I was such a jerk about it last night,” he said quietly. “You always know what you’re doing and I was just … worried and didn’t want it to be wrong.”

Kissing the top of his brother’s head and giving him a tight squeeze, Dean said, “It’s OK, we were both tired and cranky last night. And for the record, Sammy, as cool and as perfect as I am ...” He grinned as his brother laughed, rolling his eyes. “I don’t always know what I’m doing but it’s OK to be wrong and not perfect.” He lowered his voice before saying, “I know sometimes it feels like everyone is judging us and watching but in reality, they’re really not.” 

He shrugged, “Maybe.”

He laughed again, “And dropping it and just watching the game.”

Glancing up at him, Sam grinned and laughed, before settling back against him. 

“We got this,” Dean whispered quietly as he sensed Sam’s hesitation as they walked into the blocked off cul-de-sac already half filled with neighbors, tables, and chairs.

He nodded, swallowing, before taking a deep breath. “Yeah, just smile and be polite and don’t say too much; what’s private stays private.”

Recognizing their father’s words and the wisdom behind them, he reluctantly nodded, “Exactly.” Bumping his brother gently, he added, “And remember, no roaming off please. It’s the solstice …”

“It’s the solstice,” Sam said at the same time before laughing and bumping his brother back. “I know Dean and got my bracelet on and I swear, I’ll stay away from black cats, old women with hooked noses, and anything that flies and sparkles.”

He laughed, “Fine, fine, Sammy boy mock if you want, but if you end up in someone’s soup pot or turned into a toad, don’t come crying to me.” 

“Dean! Sam!” Sherry, their next door neighbor called, waving to them and coming over. “So glad you all could make it.”

He smiled, “Wouldn’t miss it! We’ve been looking forward to this for a week, right Sam?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah and we made pasta salad.”

“Great! That looks fantastic, pasta salad holds up so perfectly,” she said. “Come on over and let me introduce you to everyone and I’ll show you where to put the food.” Glancing over at Sam, she said, “And Sam, if you’re still up to be hired to water our plants and get the mail, Mr. Lowe and I will be gone starting on the 24th through July 3rd.”

Nodding, he said, “Happy to help!”

“Good, I’ll bring you a key tomorrow and go over everything then, if that works.” When he nodded again, she smiled before pausing in front of a small group of women and two men, “And then let’s see … who all do we have here … everyone, this is Dean and his younger brother, Sam. They live next door to me and Bob. Dean drives that amazingly cool black car I’m sure some of you have been eyeing.” The car was one of the first things that everyone in the neighborhood noticed and what had started many tongues wagging. Fuel had been added when Alice and Monica, the first to have a real conversation with the newcomers, were quick to point out how young the oldest was and concerns over parties and a poorly maintained property quickly circulated. The Lowes had done their best to keep the rumors to a dull roar about ‘the boys’ but, since they had very little information themselves other than to reassure everyone that the new neighbors were quiet, polite, and friendly, just a bit private, their efforts had made little headway.

Dean smiled at the group, giving a small wave, “Hey everyone. You have a great neighborhood here and Sam and I love it so far.” Touching his brother’s shoulder, he added, “And of course, if you have a friendly dog, Sam will be your new best friend. I keep telling him No but have a feeling I’m going to lose that battle sooner or later.”

Glancing up at him, Sam grinned, knowing his line and role, before turning to the group, adding, “If you could help me in my efforts, every time you see Dean out, just keep telling him dogs are great, easy, best thing in the world, I’d appreciate it!”

An older woman laughed, “That’s right, Sam. Dogs are the best and I will consider convincing your brother of that a personal challenge.”

Next to her, a younger woman nodded, “And if Gigi puts her mind to it, then you know it will happen. I’m Tabitha, by the way. My husband Greg and I live just over there in the brick house and he’s manning the grill.” She nodded in the direction of several guys and one woman clustered around three smoking grills.

Sherry smiled, “And here, let me show you where to put the food.”

“Oh, I’ll do that,” a middle age man said, breaking off from the group and picking up a covered container from a nearby table. “I need to bring our baked beans over anyway, Sherry.” Walking over, he stuck out a hand, “I’m Mac, not to be confused with Mike who is by the grill and there’s another Michael but he’s not here yet, I don’t think.”

Shaking hands firmly, Dean said, “Thanks Mac. Nice to meet you and as Sherry said, I’m Dean and my brother, Sam.”

He nodded, smiling again, “Let’s put this down and then I’ll introduce you to the guys by the grill. We’re all a friendly, easy going group.” A minute later, after passing off the dishes to an older couple who were laying things out and manning hot and cold food tables, they walked toward the grill as he asked, “When did you all move in again?”

“Right before Thanksgiving,” Dean said. “We signed the lease in October but were finishing up some stuff back in Denver, where we lived at the time, and then with Sam’s school and just getting organized, we didn’t move in for about a month.” As always, he avoided mentioning that he just graduated from high school himself.

“Dean, can I go over to where Eddie and some other guys are? Over by those trees and the cornhole boards?” Sam asked quietly, nodding in the direction of his friend, who was waving.

Glancing over there, he nodded, “Yeah but come tell me if you guys leave the cul-de-sac, OK?”

Mac smiled, watching Sam dart away, before turning back to Dean, saying, “It’s a really safe neighborhood.”

“It is,” he confirmed, smiling and giving a half shrug. “But I still worry.”

“When …” Mac started, stopping and then asking, “How long have you been responsible for him?”

Dean laughed lightly, “His whole life.” Turning his attention to the grills they were approaching, he said, “Something smells good!” He wasn’t an idiot, he knew they all wanted the story, they wanted to ask questions, find out where their parents were, and satisfy their curiosity but, like Kimberly’s mom, he also knew how to smile, laugh, charm, and always deflect. 

OOooOOooOOoo

“How was the movie?” Dean asked Tuesday afternoon as Sam opened the back door of the car and slid in, followed quickly by Jason and Ray. 

Ray grinned, “It was so good, Dean!”

“Yeah, it was great,” Sam said, leaning forward slightly and laughing. “Thanks for picking us up.”

“And how was Arnold?” he asked, pulling away from the parking lot. “And I’m guessing Dairy Queen or do you all want to go someplace else? Three Fat Cows? Family Farms?”

Sam looked at his friends before saying, “If we go to Family Farms, can we get sundaes?”

He shrugged, “Whatever you want. The way you three eat, I’m not overly concerned about ruining dinner.”

Jason laughed, “Excellent! Thanks! And Arnold was great as Dr. Freeze, not as good as The Terminator but still really good.”

“Mr. Freeze,” Ray corrected.

“No, he was a doctor,” Jason said. “Dr. Victor Fries, remember?”

“Yeah but he said his name was Mister, not Doctor,” Sam interjected. “Remember? When he was talking to the cops in the museum and Batman came sliding down the dinosaur?” 

Blocking out the noise and the debate from the backseat, Dean silently drove toward the ice cream shop and wondering how he was going to get through the next 15 hours of Sam’s first ever sleep over and the constant noise. 

“We still on for tomorrow?” Kimberly asked softly. 

Dean smiled into the phone, “Yeah and I can’t wait. The park pool is nowhere near as fun as our private swimming hole.” Muffled shouts came from downstairs and he said, “Hold that thought, I need to make sure nothing is destroyed and there’s no blood being spilled.” Tossing the phone on his bed, he stuck his head out the door, yelling, “Everything OK?”

“Sorry, we’re fine,” Sam yelled back.

“Sorry Dean!” Jason said. “The movie … you know?”

Shutting the door again, he picked up the phone, “Sorry. What were you saying about what bathing suit you were planning on wearing tomorrow?”

She laughed, “I was saying no such thing, pervert.” Then, giggling, she lowered her voice, adding, “You’ll just have to wait and see. But what’s going on there?”

“Oh, Sam is having a sleep over with a couple of his friends. I rented them Twister and Happy Gilmore but I think they’re watching Alien from our collection. I’m hiding up in my room with ear plugs and trying to keep the noise to a dull roar so the neighbors don’t complain.”

Laughing, she said, “That’s so sweet you do that for him. He’s so lucky, I can’t imagine dealing with my brother’s friends like you do. But hey, speaking of which …”

“How amazing I am?” he countered, chuckling.

“Nooo,” she said, drawing out the word as she laughed again. “I was going to mention it tomorrow but since we’re talking now ... my parents would love to have you for lunch or dinner in the next week or so. Maybe this Sunday? We do a sort of traditional big Sunday lunch around 1:30 and it would be neat if you could join us.”

He was silent for a moment before forcing himself to smile, saying, “That would be really fun and this Sunday should work great. You don’t have to work?”

“No,” she said. “I’m off until 5:00. They try to split the good shifts up and since we usually go to Mass, I like not having to work the Sunday lunch shift. Plus, tips are better on Friday nights and Saturdays because of all the drinking. Sunday afternoon is more family time, after Church and stuff.”

“Which means less beer,” he said with a laugh. “And Sunday sounds great! I can’t wait. Can I bring something?”

“Oh,” she said, pausing. “I don’t know … none of my friends have ever asked me that before.”

Feeling secretly proud of himself, he laughed softly, “Well, ask your parents for me please and let me know tomorrow. I don’t want to step on their toes or brag but I do make a mean chocolate cherry cheesecake.”

Kimberly laughed, “I’ve tasted your desserts and everything you’ve made me so far have been great. What’s on tomorrow’s menu?”

“Brownies with walnuts and caramel,” he said. “Got to have something sweet and perfect like the lady who is sharing them with me.”

Laughing again, she said, “You can’t see me but trust me when I tell you this …”

“What?” he asked, lowering his voice slightly.

“I’m rolling my eyes,” she said in a deadpanned voice and then giggled again as he protested. “Lovingly, of course but yeah, my eyes are totally rolling. Sweet and perfect … please.”

He laughed, sighing, “Well, pretty close if you ask me. And if you wear that blue and white bikini tomorrow …”

She laughed again, “Eyes are still rolling, Dean.”

Saying good night to her 15 minutes later, he hung up and flopped back onto the bed, replaying the conversation and dreading lunch on Sunday. Meeting the parents of his various hook-ups had always been easy to avoid but now, as casual as he wanted to keep the relationship with Kimberly, her parents were clearly more traditional and believed in meeting the friends or boyfriends of their 18 year old daughter. Sitting up with a sigh, he opened the door and headed downstairs. “I’m heading to bed, guys,” he said, smiling at them as Sam quickly paused their movie. “Can I trust you to keep it to a quiet roar and not cause any permanent damage?”

Sam smiled, “Yes, promise.” 

“OK, good night then. We’ll go for doughnuts in the morning,” he said, winking at his brother. “Sleep well.” Heading back upstairs after a chorus of Good Nights, he couldn’t help but smile at the sheer normalcy of the evening.

OOooOOooOOoo

“Home!” Sam called, coming in the front door Friday afternoon.

“I’m in the kitchen,” Dean said. “Did you get the mail and remember the Lowe’s mail?”

He sighed, “Yes, I got the mail but nothing good for us, I threw it in the trash can outside, and I put their mail in the plastic bin Mrs. Lowe gave me that’s in the office. They didn’t get anything interesting, either.” Kicking off his shoes in the direction of the laundry room, he leaned on the counter, frowning slightly. “Are there any brownies left?”

Dean laughed, “Yeah but only eat one. It’s almost 5:00 and we’ll eat around 6:30.” Watching his brother grab a brownie from the Tupperware container on the counter, he asked, “Have a good day? What did you all do? You look damp.” 

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “We went to the pool this afternoon and I did a back flip off the high board but the lifeguard yelled at us and made us stop and said we could only do regular jumps, which is stupid. And I came home straight from there so I didn’t have a lot of time to dry off. Before that, we just hung around Eddie’s house and played this cool new game he has on his Nintendo. Can we get one of those, too?”

Looking up from the chicken he was shredding and trying to focus primarily on the question and not the idea of his brother breaking his neck fooling around on the high diving board, said, “Maybe, we’ll see. Don’t you have enough games to play on the computer?”

Sam shrugged, “But these are cool. With Eddie’s game, we were shooting dinosaurs and to do that on the computer, you need a joystick and we don’t have one of those, either.” He grinned, eating the last of his brownie, “Maybe for Christmas? Maybe you could mention it to Bobby?”

“Christmas? July 4th is just next week, dude!” he protested, laughing and shaking his head. “And, let’s be honest, … do you think Bobby has a clue as to what a Nintendo 64 even is?”

He rolled his eyes, “No, but I can tell him.”

“We’ll see, but hey, speaking of Bobby, since I’m going to go over to Kimberly’s house for lunch on Sunday, why don’t we ask him over here?” he asked. “You guys can go someplace fun for lunch and then you can finish up that family history project that you started with him last week. It’ll be easier to do here since you have all your supplies and the computer. We can go out to dinner afterwards or cook something here with him.” The family history project needed visuals and Sam had decided on a series of maps showing where Bobby’s family, claimed as their own, came from originally, entered the US, and then settled. 

Sam frowned again, “You’re getting together with her again on Sunday? You just saw her a couple of days ago and were gone like all day.”

“Yes, and she’s invited me to lunch on Sunday with her parents,” he said. “I told you yesterday that this was happening.” Nodding toward the celery sitting on the counter, he added, “While we’re talking, make yourself useful please and clean and finely dice up the celery for us. This chicken salad has pecans, cranberries, and celery.”

Ignoring the celery, he shook his head, “But we do stuff on Sunday! We go get doughnuts or make a cool breakfast and then go do something fun. Now that we’re done working at Bobby’s house all the time, I thought we’d get to go have fun together.”

Dean looked up as he dumped the shredded poached chicken into a bowl, “And we’ll still go someplace fun for breakfast, squirt. This is just lunch, a late lunch even, so if you want, we can take our doughnuts and go hiking some place or maybe go fool around at the Outdoor Campus. There’s lots of cool things to do there; we can eat at the pavilion and either hike or do some of their climbing structures.” Trying to ignore his brother’s scowl and tone, he said patiently, “We have all morning; I don’t even need to be there until 1:30 and will probably be home by 4:00 because she has to work later that day.” He smiled, adding, “And remember, we’re going to go throw hatchets tomorrow after we go to that new BBQ place we’ve been wanting to try. They have hushpuppies!”

Shaking his head and ignoring him, Sam frowned again, pushing off from the counter. “That’s not fair! You’re going out with her and I get stuck with Bobby, again, and doing shitty schoolwork on a Sunday instead of having fun.”

“Let’s watch the tone and language, Sam and don’t yell at me,” he said firmly. “Either tell me what the problem is, what you’re upset about, or zip it and dice up the celery quietly. And, I told you last week, if you want to go hunting next weekend, you have to either finish another book or the history project. You picked the history thing, so it needs to be 100% done by Thursday if we’re going to leave on Saturday.”

Sam glared at him before shaking his head again, “That’s not fair, Dean!”

“Not interested in fair, Sam,” he shot back, feeling his own patience wearing thin at his brother’s mood. “If you can’t speak politely and in a normal tone and tell me what the problem is, you can go to your room.” 

“Fuck this!” he yelled, shaking his head. Shoving the celery toward his brother, he said, “And I don’t want stupid chicken salad for dinner! Who makes that for dinner, anyway? It’s weird!”

“Upstairs, now,” Dean ordered, stopping the celery from sliding onto the floor. “I’m sick of the tone and I’m over the attitude, Sam. You can stay in your room until you calm down.”

Sam glared at him, “That’s not fair, Dean. I’m trying to talk to you and you’re just ignoring me. You’re not always the boss.”

“Yeah, well right now I’m the boss,” he shot back. Going around the counter, he grabbed his brother’s arm and began walking them toward the stairs. “Upstairs, now, and do not make me tell you again, Sam. Once you can speak in a normal tone and without the crappy attitude, you can come down.”

Glaring and digging in his feet, Sam said, “You’re not being fair! You’re never fair to me.”

Swatting his brother’s butt twice, he said, “Upstairs, Sam. You will not be happy if I have to walk you upstairs.”

“Things were so much better with Dad!” he yelled. “You were nicer and it was better! It sucks here and I’m sick of it and it’s not fair!” Jerking his arm away, he ran upstairs. 

Closing his eyes for a second, listening to his brother stomp down the hall and almost slam his bedroom door shut, he leaned on the counter for a moment, resting his head on his arms and tried not to hate his life. He took several deep breaths before forcing himself to stand back up and resume dinner prep. 

Knocking on Sam’s door 30 minutes later, he opened it after a moment and said, “Ready to talk?”

Looking over his shoulder from his spot on his bed, Sam swallowed slightly and nodded before saying, “Yeah.”

“OK,” he said, coming and sitting down on the bed. Ruffling his brother’s hair, he said, “So talk, Sammy.”

He sighed, keeping his eyes on the wall in front of him, saying after a moment, “I’m sorry I was rude in the kitchen earlier. I didn’t mean it, really. I was just upset …”

“About what?” Dean asked after a moment when it was clear that Sam wasn’t going to continue. 

Shrugging, he said, “I don’t know. Stuff, I guess.”

“Scoot over, squirt,” he said, bumping against his brother and laying down on his side on the bed, facing Sam’s back. Curling up slightly, he pulled the younger boy close before saying, “Like what kind of stuff?”

Sam shrugged again before saying in a rough voice, “I don’t know.”

“OK, I can respect that,” Dean said before falling silent. 

“Things were easier before … Dad …” he said after a long moment, his voice thick with tears. “I like it here and everything but it was easier, before. Maybe not as good or anything because I like my friends and our house but it was easier and better. You were around more and we did stuff and I didn’t have to worry about screwing up because it didn’t matter.” Taking a shuddering breath, he said, “I’m sorry I was rude.”

For what felt like the millionth time since their father told him about his diagnosis, Dean felt out of his depth. Falling back on what he guessed was what Sam’s biggest fear, he said quietly, “I know, I understand what you’re saying and you’re right, things were easier when Dad was alive. I miss him, too. I miss … easy, sometimes. Or at least easier in certain areas.” Pushing away the immediate memories of all the hard times, constant upheavals, and the almost endless stress, he focused on his brother. 

“There’s no escape now, you know?” Sam asked quietly. “Like … I said something to Mary Elizabeth at the pool today because I thought she looked pretty and this guy, Dave, from my class got annoyed because he likes her but like two weeks ago, he was hitting on another girl so I thought it was OK. George said it was fine, Dave’s an ass, and that they’re not like dating or anything and he said Mary Elizabeth likes me, too but is friends with Emma so that can be weird. But it’s like if I make my friends mad and you go off and leave me alone, I don’t have anyone and I’m just a freak again without friends.” The last few words came out in a quiet whisper that trailed off. 

Not even bothering to try to keep track of the who said what and who likes who in the Park Pool Dating Drama, he squeezed his brother tightly, “Dude, first off, I will never leave you. I will always have your back, just like I know you will always have mine. No matter who I date, she will always come second to you.” Kissing his brother’s hair, he lightly tickled his sides, “Now, that doesn’t mean that if I get married in 15 or 20 years, that you’re coming on the honeymoon, squirt.”

Sam giggled, “No, not unless it’s someplace haunted and then I’ll just get my own room and help you hunt during the day.” He laughed, adding, “Because you’ll be too busy at night.”

Dean laughed, “Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But second, Sammy, you have friends who like you and I promise you, you fit in just fine. You’re weird and geeky and kind of awkward and not really cute …”

“Dean!” he said, twisting around slightly before smiling and rolling his eyes as he saw his brother’s grin. 

“But, as I was saying, your friends are the same. Ray and Jason are both geeky, awkward guys and Eddie is flat out weird. I’m still not 100% convinced that he’s all human but I’ve run every test I can think of and he’s passed, so we’ll go with it. I don’t know George that well but from what I’ve seen of him at the pool and his handling of sunscreen, he’s about your level.”

Sam giggled, “That was pretty bad.”

He laughed, “Yeah it was but I’d like to point out who prevented you from having your own disaster.”

“I know, you,” he said, shaking his head. He sighed again, “You think I’m OK then?”

“I think you’re totally fine, Sam,” he said firmly. “I promise. But I do think you should try not to worry about it. No one feels like they fit it, everyone worries about it, but I promise you, you’re fine.” Giving him another squeeze, he said quietly, “You don’t have to worry about fitting in or finding someone to hang out with or knowing what to do because you’ve managed to do all that this year and it will be just the same when school starts. You’ve got good friends and you’re a good kid who is a good friend.”

“But you’re my best friend,” he said quietly. 

Dean smiled, “Damn straight I am.”

Sam laughed, “Good.”

Kissing his hair again, Dean sat up before quickly rolling Sam onto his stomach and delivering two hard swats to his butt. “I understand how frustrating it is but I still don’t appreciate you swearing or yelling at me or being rude. Got it?”

“Yes,” he said softly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.”

“Good,” Dean said, hauling him into a sitting position and hugging him. “Next time, I’ll lock you in a closet and you won’t have to worry if chicken salad sandwiches are a good dinner or not because …”

“Bread and water only,” Sam said, interrupting him before leaning into the hug. 

Dean laughed, “Right.” 

Sighing softly, he said after a minute, “Do you need help with dinner?”

“Always,” he said, standing up and hauling Sam up with him. “Come on, squirt. You can make the crescent rolls while I fry up some bacon. After dinner, we’ll call Bobby and you can ask him about Sunday.”

Sam sighed again, following Dean out of the bedroom. “I’ll get that stupid history project finished up, promise.”

“That’s the can-do, eager to get to work, and do an A+ job kind of attitude I always like to hear,” he said, smiling at his brother. “Those ghosts in Mineral Rocks have been waiting for 120 years, who knows how much longer they’re going to hang around.”

He laughed, “Well, they won’t be around after next weekend if we do our job right.”

Dean nodded, “Exactly.”

OOooOOooOOoo

Holding the box in one hand, Dean took a quick breath and forced himself to smile as he rang the doorbell of Kimberly’s house Sunday afternoon.

Mr. Matthis smiled as he opened the door, “Come on in, Dean. So good to see you again.”

“Thank you so much, sir,” he said, stepping into the house. “I appreciate the invitation. Something smells wonderful.”

The older man chuckled, “Garlic pork tenderloin, you’ll love it.”

“Sounds great,” he said, feeling suddenly awkward standing in the foyer. Taking quiet deep breath, smiled again and tried to pretend he was speaking with one of Sam’s friends’ fathers at a normal, boring birthday party. “Have you all had a good summer so far?” he asked, smiling slightly. “I have to say, the heat has been nice after the winter we had this past year. I’m trying not to dread November already.”

“I know and yeah, we have,” he said. “Last summer with all the kids home, feels kind of weird after 18 years.”

Dean laughed, “I’m sure. My brother, Sam, is going away to soccer camp in a few weeks for the first time. It’s a sleep away camp at a college a couple of hours from here and he’ll leave early Monday morning and get back late Friday afternoon.” Shaking his head, he added, “Our uncle is doing a lot of work around his house and I’ll probably spend the week over there helping him. It’ll be strange to have the house so quiet.”

Mr. Matthis laughed, nodding. “Yes, for sure but it’s good to be busy and helps keep you out of trouble. My father always said that idle hands were the devil’s tools. I don’t know that I’d go that far but there is some merit in it.”

“My father, our father,” he said, smiling slightly, “was a big believer in the benefits of child labor, too.”

“Dad!” Kimberly called, coming down the hall from the kitchen. “Why didn’t you bring Dean back? We were wondering where you guys were.”

He laughed, holding up his hands slightly, “Sorry, sweetie! We were just talking.” Smiling at Dean, he said, “We are being summoned.” He waved his hand in the direction of the kitchen and adjoining family room, “Guests firsts.”

Slipping past him, he smiled at Kimberly. “Hey,” he said softly, aware of her father’s eyes on him.

She stretched up slightly and kissed him quickly on the cheek before taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. “Hey, yourself. Thanks for coming.”

“Thanks for having me,” he said as he allowed himself to be led into the kitchen. Smiling at Mrs. Matthis who was coming around the island toward him, he said, “Thanks so much for the invitation, Mrs. Matthis. It smells wonderful.”

“Oh, we’re so happy you could join us, Dean,” she said, reaching over and giving him a quick hug. 

Holding out the box, he said, “Since you wouldn’t allow me to contribute anything to the meal, I wanted to give you a little treat for this evening.” Passing them over, he said, “The Porcine Porcupine makes wonderful chocolate truffles, if you’ve never had them.”

She opened the box and smiled at the collection of two dozen different chocolate candies inside. “These look wonderful, thank you!”

Mr. Matthis laughed, taking the box from his wife and saying, “A step up from the normal Hershey bars we keep in the pantry.”

Dean smiled, “The owners, Patty and Paul, have a booth at the Farmers’ Market and I picked it up yesterday for you. I wasn’t sure what you’d like so Patty just picked out her favorites.”

Kimberly squeezed his hand and then reached over and took out a dark chocolate truffle, biting it in half. “Oh wow!” she said, as the raspberry filling oozed slightly out before she ate the other half. “So good!”

Mr. Matthis smiled at her, before selecting one of his own before biting it in half and giving his wife the other half. “Here, honey, we’ll split one.”

She laughed, “For right now but as soon as you put that box down, I’ll have my own, thank you very much.”

He grinned at her before giving her a quick kiss. “Thanks, Dean, very much appreciated. My wife and I will really enjoy these; the kids can eat Hershey’s.”

Dean smiled, “So glad you like them.” Then, smiling quickly at Kimberly, he kissed her hand and said quietly, “I’ll get you your own box next week.”

Mrs. Matthis laughed, “That’s the ticket, Dean.” Then, turning to her husband said, “Why don’t you get the rest of the kids down here and we’ll look at eating. Lunch is ready.”

“So, do you really live all by yourself?” Ryan, Kimberly’s brother asked after they said grace and began passing around the food 10 minutes later.

“Rye!” Kimberly said, glaring at him across the table. 

“It’s fine and no, I don’t live by myself,” Dean said, smiling at him. “I live with my younger brother, Sam. He’s going into 9th grade this year.”

“But you don’t you have to live with any adults, right?” he asked. “That means you can pretty much do what you want, right?” Shooting his father a look, he added, “Since you’re 18, that means you’re an adult and should be able to do what you want.”

“Let’s change the topic of conversation, please,” Mrs. Matthis said. “You already know that, unfortunately, Dean and his brother lost both of their parents recently but are blessed with a safe home here and an uncle who can help take care of them.” Breaking apart a roll, she said, “Are you and Sam doing anything fun for the 4th? The fireworks and concert at the falls are always great and we typically go every year.”

“And the parade,” Katelynn said, smiling shyly at Dean. “I play the flute and we marched in it every year for middle school band. But since I’m going into 9th grade this year, I’m out of the middle school band, so no parade participation.”

Ryan groaned dramatically, “Oh no, Katie, say it’s not so! You mean we don’t have to get up at 6:00am to be there by 7:00 to sit in the hot sun for hours waiting to sort of maybe see you in the 4th row, 6th column, march by for 10 seconds?”

She glared at him, “No one asked you to come, Ryan.”

“No but I was told to,” he said, glaring at his mother for a moment. “Wasn’t really a choice …”

Mr. Matthis smiled slightly before saying, “Enough.”

Taking a bite of the glazed carrots, Dean smiled and said, “We’ll have to check that out. I work on Saturdays at the Farmers’ Market and then Sam and I are going on a quick trip over to the Black Hills area for a few days of camping and hiking, go see Mt. Rushmore and maybe Deadwood. Basically, play tourist I think.”

“What do you do at the Farmers’ Market?” Mrs. Matthis asked. “I think you told me but I don’t remember now …”

He smiled at her, “I work for a family friend. He has a knife sharpening stand. He does all the sharping … knives, scissors, gardening stuff, that sort of thing, and I handle all the customers and payments. He had another guy helping him but he stayed at college this summer so I got the job.”

“Knives? Cool,” Ryan said, smiling. “I bet lots of weird people bring knives to be sharpened.”

Dean laughed, taking a small bite of pork, “Not too weird, mostly cooks because you need good, sharp knives in the kitchen. They’re actually safer than dull knives. And then hairdressers and barbers bring in their scissors and razors, tailors bring in scissors, too.”

“That’s true,” Mrs. Matthis said, nodding. “I hate working with dull knives. I use a sharpening stone but may have to give him a try some Saturday.”

“I love going to the Farmers’ Market,” Kimberly said, smiling. “But I haven’t gone at all this year. I usually don’t get off until midnight on Fridays and it’s hard to get out of bed that early on Saturday mornings.”

He nodded, smiling, “Tell me about it. I’m there by 7:30, so we can get set up. It doesn’t technically open until 9:00 but people are always there early and they like to drop things off, shop, grab some breakfast and coffee, and then pick up their orders.”

She grinned at him, “Maybe I’ll start getting up early and meeting you there with coffee.”

“It’s good to have a job,” Mr. Matthis said with a nod. “I had a paper route throughout high school and then worked at a grocery store as night security all during college. It was great, I had plenty of time to study and cat nap in between deliveries. And if that’s on Saturdays, what do you do during the rest of the week now that you’ve graduated and college hasn’t started yet? Just hanging out or did you think about a job with more hours? Like Kimberly works 20 or 30 hours a week to save up and help offset the costs of college.”

“Dad!” Kimberly protested. “People are allowed to relax during the summer.” 

“I’m not saying they’re not,” he replied, shaking his head. “But I am curious and just getting to know Dean better, nothing wrong with the question.”

Dean laughed, “It’s fine and I might hang out some, for sure.” Pulling on long used habits of politely yet firmly standing up for himself with authority figures, he smiled and met the older man’s gaze before saying, “I help out at my uncle’s business and around his house some, we’re doing a major clean up there now and painting the whole house. And, of course, I cook dinner for us almost every night, do all the grocery shopping and pay the bills. I typically handle most of the laundry except the sheets and towels, which is Sam’s responsibility on Saturday while I work. Then, of course, there’s the ongoing housework that needs to be done … yard work, vacuuming, dusting, bathrooms, general picking up and luckily, Sam helps with that and has his own list of chores. He also has several summer assignments for school, like summer reading, that he’s responsible for. And like most 14 year-olds, he’s not always great about doing those, so I stay on top of him and help.” Giving a short laugh, he shrugged, “And then you throw in his social life and mine and both of us adjusting to a new city and everything … it feels like a pretty full plate.” Taking a small bite of bite of biscuit, he shrugged again, “I have to say, most of my hanging out seems to be done on Tuesdays or Wednesdays at a public pool near our house while Sam hangs out with some of his friends. One of his friends’ mothers isn’t thrilled about her son going to the pool with just other kids, so I am sort of the volunteered chaperone for the group. I sit there with a book and just make sure that no one drowns or gets bloody.”

Kimberly smiled at him, adding, “And knows how to apply suntan lotion.” 

“I’m sure,” Mrs. Matthis said, smiling at her daughter before turning her attention to her husband. “And I think we could all agree that Dean’s schedule sounds pretty packed. Don’t you think?”

He nodded, “Yes.”

“What is your necklace of?” Katelyn asked suddenly. “I thought it was a cross like Mom’s but it’s of a … bull?”

He smiled at her, touching his amulet, not realizing it wasn’t tucked into shirt. “Oh, yeah. It’s a good luck piece that my brother got from our uncle and he gave it to me for Christmas about four, five years ago. I was going camping and he wanted me to be safe.”

Turning to her parents, she said, “Sam is really sweet and it’s clear he adores Dean.”

Mrs. Matthis smiled, “That’s very sweet of him and so nice that you humor him and still wear it.”

Mr. Matthis nodded, taking a bite of carrots, he said, “Camping is always a good vacation and pretty cost conscious. We’re still trying to decide where to go on vacation this year. Maybe Lake Louise and Banff, up in Alberta.”

Kate moaned, shaking her head, “Dad! I thought we were talking about flying to New York City! Alberta? That’s like here …”

“No, it’s not,” Ryan said, rolling his eyes. “It’s nothing like here. It’s not a good choice but that’s because it’s boring, not because it’s like here.”

Listening to the conversation flow around him and grateful to have the spotlight off him for a moment, Dean slowly ate, nodding and laughing at the appropriate moments. He felt a hand brush his leg and he glanced over, smiling as Kimberly winked at him. A second later, he felt eyes firmly on him as he shifted slightly and saw Mr. Matthis watching him. He smiled at the older man before focusing again on his meal. 

“I’m not sure who I should apologize for more,” Kimberly whispered, leaning into him as she walked him to his car two hours later. “My idiot siblings or my dad who seemed to be treating you like an employee with very questionable charges on the city’s credit card.”

Dean laughed, squeezing her hand. “Don’t worry, Ryan and Katie were both fine. I’m use to sort of awkward almost 9th graders and Ryan, I think, was more interested in making points with your dad.”

“He’s turning 18 in December and has been pushing Dad about everything and saying at 18, he should be considered an adult. Mom and Dad don’t agree.”

Leaning against the driver’s side of his car, Dean pulled her closer and kissed her before saying, “I didn’t realize you two were so close in age.”

She nodded, “Yeah, I’ll be 19 in December. We’re like … 50 weeks apart. Mom once joked she had no idea she could get pregnant so quickly and they were much more careful with Katie.” Kissing him back, she whispered, “And you’re younger than me … so it’s like I’m robbing the cradle.”

“And I’m enjoying getting involved with an older woman,” he said with a smile. Kissing her again, he allowed his hand resting on her waist to drift to her butt and stroked it gently. “At least you’re holding up well, for your age and everything.”

She laughed, hitting him gently. “Just for that, jerk, I’m wearing jeans and a sweatshirt when we get together next week. No more bathing suits for you!”

Kissing her again, he grinned, “Guess we’ll just have to go skinny dipping, then.”

“Dean!” she said, blushing slightly. “Go, I need to get to work and I’m sure my dad is watching.”

He smiled at her, shaking his head. “No, I think your mom likes me. I bet she has him corralled in the back helping with the dishes or something.” With a sigh, he stood up from the car and said, “But I should get going. Sam’s at home with our uncle working on some school project. I promised him ice cream if he made good headway on it while I was gone.”

Kissing him again quickly, she said, “OK but call me tomorrow and I’ll see you on Thursday. And if you play your cards right, I’ll show up on Saturday morning with coffee for you.”

OOooOOooOOoo


	4. July

July 

“Done!” Sam called out happily, glancing up from the poster board laid out on the dining table early Wednesday evening. “And before the deadline, ha!”

Looking up from his spot on the sofa where he was reading, Dean laughed, “Ready for inspection?”

Sam shook his head, coming into the living room and flopping down on the sofa. Bumping against his brother, he sighed slightly as Dean moved his arm and pulled him in closer. 

“Tired, Sammy?”

He nodded, “A little but we had fun at the pool today. You should have come with us; I did this great somersault off the high board. I wonder if there’s a swim team at school I can join?”

“I didn’t think you were supposed to be doing somersaults at the pool. I thought you said the lifeguard said only regular jumps?” Dean asked. When Sam shrugged, he laughed, shaking his brother gently, “Well, don’t get banned from the pool, squirt. It will be a long seven weeks if you lose pool privileges for the rest of the summer.”

Sam laughed, saying, “The picky lifeguard was on break, the cool guy doesn’t care as long as no one’s screaming, he’s too busy paying attention to the girls.” He twisted slightly, glancing at his brother before saying quietly, “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course, anything, you know that. You know we can talk about anything you want.”

He was quiet for a moment before saying, “So … you know my stupid family history project is about Bobby’s family and we pretend that Bobby is Mom’s brother, so we say it’s our maternal history.”

“Right,” Dean confirmed. “That explains why our last name is Winchester and his is Singer.”

“I have where his parents are buried at and his grandparents but do you know where Mom is buried?” he asked quietly. “I mean … was there even anything left … after the fire? I asked Bobby but he said he didn’t know.”

Dean took a deep breath, quickly trying to decide how much to say, “I do know and we could go visit her grave, if you want. It’s in Illinois. A town called Greenville, which is sort of near St. Louis.” Pausing again, he hugged him for a second before saying, “And, I’ll be really honest with you, Sam … I don’t know what they buried but it wasn’t that bad of a fire so I would guess they were able to recover her body. You know the house didn’t burn down or anything, it was just badly damaged. We moved back there that spring and lived there until we left. I remember how bad the smoke was and that would have killed her quickly, she didn’t suffer.”

“Yeah,” he said softly, leaning into his brother. “Have you seen it? Her grave, I mean?”

Dean nodded, “Once, when I was young and you were pretty little. Dad took us, right after he started hunting full time, after we left Lawrence for good that summer. So, right after you turned 3 and I was 7. He drove us to the cemetery where she is and did … something. I guess talked to her or her grave.” He smiled, giving his brother another squeeze, “You were there too, squirt. I entertained you by playing peek-a-boo around this big like double headstone, surprising you by coming around either side or over the top and you’d giggle each time like it was the best game in the world.” Giving him a gently hug, he fell silently, letting his brother absorb the words.

“Would it be OK if I included her and Dad in my family history project?” he asked after a long moment. “They’re not Singers but …” His voice trailed off as he shrugged. “I mean, I know we keep private stuff private and not talk about Mom or Dad, so maybe it’s not a good idea.”

Kissing the top of his brother’s head, he said, “I think that’s a great idea. She was born around Greenville, too, so we’ll just use that. Dad was born in Normal, Illinois, which is sort of funny that they were both born in the same state and ended up both living in Lawrence.”

Sam smiled, “Yeah, that is funny. Did they meet there? In Lawrence, I mean?”

“Yep, at the movies,” Dean said, nodding. “Dad had gotten out of the service and had moved there for some reason and she was living there with her parents and they met and the rest is history.”

“Dad said that he loved her pies. She made the best pies and she’d make a new one every week and that was like the highlight of his Fridays, even better than getting paid, seeing what she’d make,” he said softly. “He told me that one time when we were together, when he’d pick me up from school before … when he was sick, you know?”

“That’s cool,” Dean said. “I sort of remember that but didn’t know that story.” He laughed softly, “Clearly you take after Dad, always hungry.”

Sam giggled, twisting slightly to grin at his brother before saying, “And you take after Mom because you make great pies.”

“Want to get up and add that stuff to your project so you can be really done, done?” Dean asked. “Then, we’ll look at dinner.”

Sam nodded, sitting up. “Yeah.” 

“Do you want to go see her grave?” Dean asked, standing up and pulling his brother up with him. Ruffling his hair, he said, “We can go visit it and see if you are still highly entertained by playing peek-a-boo around a tombstone. When we’re in the area, we can hit Normal, too, and see where Dad grew up.”

He shrugged, “I don’t know.”

Trying to decide what was the true meaning behind those words, he hugged him tightly. “We’ll think about it, OK? And if you do want to, I know exactly where it is and it’s really easy to get to.”

Hugging him back, he nodded. “Why didn’t we ever go with Dad? I mean, beyond the first time?” he asked a minute later. “It might have been nice.”

“I don’t know, Sammy,” he said quietly, shrugging. “Maybe it was too hard on Dad? Plus, some people don’t feel the need to visit a cemetery to feel close to the person.” He was silent for a moment before saying, “Like we don’t need to visit a cemetery to think about Dad. Maybe he was the same way?”

“Yeah and he never talked about her.”

“I know,” Dean said softly, having very few of his own memories to share.

Sam broke away after another long moment with a sigh, “I’ll add them to my family project though. I like including them.”

“Me too, I think that’s a good idea,” he confirmed. Ruffling his brother’s hair again, he grinned. “I’ll start dinner while you do that.”

OOooOOooOOoo

“You know what I’ve been thinking about?” Dean asked Friday afternoon, glancing up from the Impala he and Bobby were working on. 

“What?” Bobby asked absentmindedly as he unscrewed the brake fluid cap. 

“About last 4th of July,” he said. “We had done a hunt the week before, Dad was doing some research on his own and was gone for the night but we were in a bit of a lull so Sam and I went and bought some fireworks and went out to the middle of nowhere and set them off and had a fantastic time. It was great and I remember thinking it was going to be a great summer.”

Bobby glanced up, “If I remember correctly, your dad said you and your brother almost burnt a field down with those fireworks and that was a big motivator for getting out of town.” He gave the other man a half smile. “Have to say, John seemed to find it sort of funny.”

He snorted, shaking his head. “The paddling he gave me the next day would make me think otherwise.”

Bobby laughed, “Well, you probably deserved it.”

“It was a small fire! And we put it out!” he protested before giving a shrug. “Mostly but really, no damage was done. It was an empty, weed filed field. If anything, we improved it!” Wiping his hands, he stared at the car for a long moment.

Sensing the change in the other man, Bobby stopped his examination of the brake fluid and focused his attention on Dean. 

“But he knew he was sick, you know? And didn’t say anything and went along with the jokes that he was just getting old.” He shook his head, “And we’re here like … two weeks later because he knew and was preparing but didn’t say a fucking thing to us, or even to me, for like … months, Bobby! He told you before he told me!” His voice cracked slightly as he angrily shook his head again, “That’s what I keep thinking about. How last 4th of July there was this massive secret that I had no idea about, just blissfully going along, having fun with Sam, enjoying a pretty fun, relaxing summer, and then bam and here we are.”

“He didn’t want you boys to worry,” Bobby said evenly, straightening up and wiping his hands before going over to Dean’s side of the car. “He wanted the information and a clear picture of what was going on before he told you.” 

Dean shrugged, “Yeah, I know but still doesn’t change the fact.”

“No, it doesn’t,” he agreed. “It also doesn’t change the outcome, kid. All it really did was give you a few more weeks of being a … kid and to enjoy a fun summer with Sam, hanging out here and having fun.” Pausing, he let his words sink in before adding, “I like to think that’s exactly what John wanted. He knew what was coming, he knew what his death was going to do to you, what it was going to put on your shoulders, and I think he wanted to spare you that for as long as possible. And, until he got his final diagnosis, he could maybe … pretend or hell, lie to himself, about how long he had, how long you had until it was all resting on your shoulders.”

“Yeah,” he said softly before sighing. “Anyway, that’s what I’ve been thinking about.” He shrugged, “And just wanted to like say it out loud or something.”

Reaching out, Bobby ruffled his hair, “I’m glad you did, kid. I’m always here, any time you want to say something out loud.” He smiled as Dean tried to duck away, pulling him close and hugging him, kissing him quickly on his forehead. “Oh no, you don’t get away that easily, boy. You need a hug now and then too, not just Sam.”

Dean leaned into the hug and sighed before saying quietly, “Yeah. God, I miss him so much, Bobby.”

“I know,” he said simply, holding him tight.

“Don’t say anything to Sam, OK?”

“Of course not,” he confirmed. “What you tell me stays with me, promise.”

He nodded, saying softly, “Thanks.” Pulling away slowly several minutes later, he sighed, “I guess we should get back to work. I need to pick him up in a couple of hours from Ray’s 4th of July party and then we’re driving out tomorrow to go hunting and spongy brakes aren’t what I want to deal with.”

Bobby laughed, “No. So, let’s get to bleeding the lines and that should solve the problem.” Going back to the other side of the car, he said, “Tell me about the job you boys are going to be tackling. I might have some tips for you.” Glancing up, he said, “Your brother said ghosts but he was asking me about how to get rid of them if you don’t have a body to burn.”

“We’re heading out toward Rapid City and Mt. Rushmore, play tourist a bit and going to explore Mineral Rocks, a ghost town out there. Sammy said he found it on a list you gave him.”

He nodded, “Yep, good job to tackle, pretty similar to Cold Springs but not as organized of a town. We can check my stuff when we finish up here but if I remember correctly, most of the graves are at old homestead sites and not a formal cemetery.”

Dean made a face, “I’ll make sure Sam eats his Wheaties then because digging is going to be a bitch if we find some ghosts that need or want to be dispatched.”

Bobby chuckled, “Yeah but at least the bones probably aren’t too deep.”

“There is that,” he said, smiling. 

OOooOOooOOoo

Putting the car in park Sunday morning, Dean glanced across to the passenger seat and asked, “Ready?”

Sam grinned, nodding. “Yeah.”

He laughed, opening his door. “OK, then slide over here Sammy boy and show me what you’ve got.” Going around to the passenger side, he got in as his brother moved the seat closer to the steering wheel. They were on a long, deserted farm road about 10 miles from their cabin in the middle of the Black Hills area. They had driven the road already once that morning, confirming that there was nothing on it and letting Sam get a little familiar with the small curves and inclines before going back to the beginning of the road and starting again. “Put your seatbelt on,” he said quietly. 

Nodding nervously, Sam glanced over after doing his seatbelt and grinned. “This is so cool, Dean!”

He laughed, “Yep, it’s going to be fun. Check your mirrors, are they set OK or do you need to adjust them?” 

Looking, he adjusted the rearview mirror before nodding. “I think they’re OK.”

Dean nodded, “OK. Tell me again, which one is the brake and which one is the gas?”

Sam rolled his eyes, “The left peddle is the brake, the right one is the gas. I’m not an idiot, Dean.”

“And you’re not going to get to do this if I don’t think you’re taking it seriously, Sam,” he said firmly, glancing at his brother. “Any more comments?”

Giving a sheepish smile, he said, “No, sorry. I also only use my right foot, not two feet so I don’t panic and hit the wrong one or accidently ride my brakes.”

He nodded, “Right. OK, then … let’s go.” Smiling at Sam’s intense concentration, he said softly, “You’ve got it, Sam. You’ve been doing great at Bobby’s … this is basically the same thing.” He watched as his brother tried to put the car in drive before pressing the brake pedal, quietly biting his tongue to avoid jumping in to correct the mistake.

Sam glanced over as he pressed the brake and shifted, smiling as he caught Dean watching him. “I forgot,” he said with a shrug.

“Not a problem,” he said, smiling. “You figured it out.” 

He laughed as he slowly pressed the gas pedal. “Yeah.” Gripping the wheel tightly, he eased the car down the road slowly.

“You’re doing good, Sam,” he said a few minutes later. “You could give it a bit more gas and see how that feels. See the road ahead, remember how you should see the whole area, not just the road right in front of you?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, it’s straight and sort of going uphill in just a minute. So, I need to give it more gas to go up the hill, right?”

“Exactly and it’s straight so you don’t have to worry about any curves,” he confirmed, nodding. A moment later, he said, “And watch to your right, my side, you’re drifting slightly toward the shoulder.”

“Sorry,” he said quickly. Letting his foot off the gas, he adjusted to the left as the car slowed down.

“You’re fine,” Dean said smiling. “You can adjust slightly and still be using the gas pedal at the same time. Just don’t jerk the wheel or over correct.”

Taking a deep breath, Sam glanced over at him and smiled again, “Sorry.”

Reaching out, Dean ruffled his hair. “You’re doing great, Sam. Relax, this is fun. I’m looking forward to sitting on this side and taking a nap while you drive us home on Wednesday.”

He laughed, rolling his eyes, “Yeah, right, Dean.” 

Allowing his head to fall back against the car seat, he closed his eyes and gave a loud fake snore, smacking his lips slightly before laughing. 

Sam laughed again, shaking his head and concentrating on the road ahead. “And ease up slightly on the curve,” he said softly, half to himself, as the road curved to the left as it went down into a small valley. 

“Perfect,” Dean said, nodding. “Don’t ride the brake …”

“Is this how Dad taught you?” Sam asked 15 minutes later as they got to the end of the road and paused for a minute, looking out at the pastures and hills in front of them.

“Yep, basically,” Dean said. “Any time we were out in an area like this, he would have me drive to get comfortable with it. Later, when I was more comfortable with driving, I’d drive around town or parking lots to practice during the early morning hours.” Glancing at his brother, he smiled, “But we’ll stay off real roads with you until you’re officially 15 and have your learners’ permit. This driving is just for emergencies and our secret, right?”

Sam nodded, smiling. “Yeah, our normal.”

“Exactly,” he said, skipping over the fact that the summer after he turned 14, his father had given him his first fake ID … a driver’s license that bumped his age from 14 to 16 and made him a legal driver. “Want to learn how to make a 3-point turn and we’ll start back down? It’s a little advanced but I think you can do it.”

Sam grinned, nodding. “Yeah.” 

OOooOOooOOoo

“Hiking, swimming, hiking with swimming, tourist crap, or hunting?” Dean asked, sitting down on the sofa in the small living room of their cabin Monday morning and taking a sip of his coffee. Keeping to his internal promise, he always let Sam decide how much hunting they actually did during their trips. If it was once, like their trip a few weeks ago to deal with the will-o-the-whisps, with the rest of the time spent at the lake and hiking, that was fine with him. They had driven around on Sunday after Sam’s driving lesson and did a scouting trip of the area, including Mineral Rocks that afternoon. The area had certainly pinged their EMF readers and Sam had sworn he saw something in one of the fields by a mostly collapsed house.

Sam smiled at him, finishing the peanut butter sandwich he had made for breakfast. “Mineral Rocks, for sure. I swear, there was this lady standing in the field by one of the houses we saw yesterday. I know you didn’t see her but I did and the EMF readers were going crazy.”

He nodded, “OK, sounds good. Got your journal and your research?”

“In my bag,” he said, nodding again. 

Dean smiled, “OK, let me get dressed and then we’ll hit the road. You want to drive?”

Sam laughed, rolling his eyes. “Yeah, sure. I’ll drive so you can read the map and drink your coffee.”

Standing up, he ruffled his brother’s hair, “Sounds good to me and we need to get this cut when we get home, it’s getting too long.”

He jerked his head away, “I like it! And longer hair is OK for soccer camp … it’s like European or something.”

“You’re not European,” he countered, heading into the bedroom and adding haircuts to his mental to do list.

“She was over there,” Sam said two hours later as they made their way across an empty field with a half collapsed house at the edge. “Just standing there, watching us.”

“Why are ghosts usually someplace like this?” Dean asked, his gaze alternating between his brother and the fields around him. “And, are there clues that might tell us either that ghosts are around or why they’re here?” Shifting his bag with various weapons in it, he smiled as Sam sighed slightly. 

“It depends,” he said slowly. “They could have died here or their bodies could still be here or they might be attached to an object still here.” 

He nodded, bumping against his brother gently, “Exactly right, Sammy.” 

Laughing, he nodded, “And we know they are there sometimes because of EMF readings, if that’s not getting screwed up by other stuff like power lines. And then, we can feel cold spots, or see things moving on their own or see the ghosts flat out. Some ghosts can move around as much as they want but most are attached to a particular area or a small territory, like a few blocks or something.”

“So smart,” he confirmed. “And speaking of smart …” He paused, reaching out and drawing Sam closer to him as a middle age female ghost appeared in the field about halfway between them and the house.

“Cool,” Sam whispered, glancing over and giving a small smile. “Told you I saw something.”

Studying her for a moment, he said, “How would you like to handle this?” 

Sam glanced at him, shrugging. “I don’t know, what do you think?”

Shifting the bag again in his hand, he said, “What does your research say? Are the ghosts here bad? Are they hurting people or are they maybe just stuck? Or maybe just hanging out, minding their own business and maybe we should mind ours?” He had always privately thought the supernatural wasn’t as black and white as John seemed to believe and enforced with them. The older man had always shut down any sort of discussion, considering that kind of debate to be a waste of time. The nuances of gray, of good and bad, was something he was determined to instill with his own personal lessons with Sam.

Closing his eyes for a second, Sam said, “I don’t remember any reports of hikers or campers going missing around here. Some people have reported lights and noises, which I think is how Mineral Rocks got on Bobby’s lists but it doesn’t seem to be … bad or anything.” Glancing at Dean, he asked, “Do you think it’s like Cold Springs? Where the ghosts are just hanging around and not bothering anyone?”

He nodded, “Could be. Some of them could have been bad because, if a bad person dies …”

“Their ghost is probably bad,” Sam completed the thought with a smile. He giggled, “So we should be a bit concerned if the ghost lady poisoned all her cousins to make sure she was her grandparents only heir but not just because she’s a ghost.”

Dean laughed, “Yeah and we should also be concerned that we’re in an Agatha Christie novel, if that’s the case.”

Sam laughed again, “Especially since I haven’t read that book yet!” Bumping against Dean he added, “But it does seem like something Poirot would investigate.” Turning, he studied the ghost again who was simply standing there, watching them. “She doesn’t seem like a cousin killer or dangerous.”

He nodded, “I think you’re right. What do you want to do?”

“I guess we could go talk to her and see if she wants something. Maybe she’s stuck like the preacher and we could help her?” he asked, shrugging.

“Sounds like a plan, Sammy,” he said. “Do you want me to go or do you want to?”

Biting his lower lip slightly, he said, “How about we go together but you start? I’ll talk to her after you.”

Dean smiled, “Good idea. Let me feel her out and make sure we don’t have to call in Poirot or Miss Marple.” Opening bag, he handed Sam a bag of salt, “Take this, just in case.”

Taking the bag of salt and giggling, he said, “Just don’t feel her up or the Chili’s Girl will be jealous.”

“Sam!” he said, shaking his head and trying hard not to smile. “Don’t be disrespectful and her name is Kimberly, not the Chili’s Girl.”

“What? That wasn’t disrespectful! That was funny!” he said before laughing and grinning. 

Shaking his head, Dean sighed before bumping against him and saying, “Move it or you’re digging the grave alone, squirt.” Approaching the ghost, he quietly thumbed off the safety on the shotgun, eyes scanning the open field, house beyond, and Sam’s position. “Hold up, Sam,” he said quietly as the ghost in front of them shifted slightly, seeming to blink on and off.

Sam froze before taking a small step back and pressing himself against Dean. 

“We’ve got this,” he said quietly before stepping to the side and half in front of his brother. Smiling at the ghost, he said, “Hi.” Up close he mentally calculated her age down from middle age to a very hard 30 years. Her long dark dress had a small high white collar and tiny buttons running down the front and appeared to be roughly made and well patched. 

She smiled slightly at him before bowing her head slightly. “Good day to, sirs.”

“How are you?” he asked, smiling at her. 

“Hoping I can trouble you for a small favor,” she said, giving him an almost flirty grin. “You look like a strapping young man.”

Trying hard not to wince at the bad teeth, he smiled, “Happy to help.”

“Then come along,” she said, turning quickly and moving toward the house. 

“Dean …” Sam whispered, shaking his head. “Don’t go in there.”

He smiled, “Of course not, don’t worry. But nothing is going to happen … how could it? You’ve got my back, right?”

“Yeah but …”

Stopping, he turned full on and lowering his voice, said, “Trust me, Sam. I would never, ever do anything dangerous with you. Promise.”

He nodded, “I know, OK.” Taking a deep breath, he began to follow the woman gliding through the grass. 

She stopped near the edge of what looked to be a road or drive leading to the house. A pile of half rotten, broken boards lay in a heap along the side, a broken wooden wagon wheel lay flat, mostly covered by dirt and with weeds obscuring most of the remaining frame. Patiently waiting for them to join her, she smiled again. “There is a small red leather box under that pile. Could you fetch it for me?”

Dean studied her for a moment before slowly nodding, “Probably. But what’s in it?”

“Something that is valuable only to me,” she said. “The frame has some value and you may have that as a thank you, if you wish.”

Studying the pile of wood for a moment, he carefully handed the shot gun to his brother, saying, “Hold this and be careful, the safety is off.”

“OK,” he said, accepting the gun with a quick glance toward the ghost. 

Giving the pile several kicks with his foot, hoping to scare off anything living in the pile of wood, Dean began to carefully remove the broken and rotten wood. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the woman hovering nearby and felt relieved that her attention was fully focused on him and she was paying no attention to Sam. “If I had known I was going to be doing this, I would have brought gloves from Bobby’s,” he muttered, gingerly lifting off a board and tossing it aside. Glancing at her, he said, “It looks like someone tried to take apart this wagon with like an ax. What happened?”

Ignoring the question, she sighed softly, saying, “And there it is.”

Removing two more boards, he saw a small, faded leather box covered in dust and dirt but appearing fully intact. “I guess the boards really protected it from the weather,” he said, glancing at Sam who appeared as interested in the box as the ghost. 

“What’s in it?” Sam asked, glancing at her as he stepped slightly closer.

“Something my husband tried to steal from me,” she said simply, her eyes firmly on the box. “But I stopped him.”

Two more boards later and he was able to reach into the hole and tug the small box free from the pile. It was filthy and the metal hinges were badly rusted and corroded. 

“Hurry,” she said in an almost frantic whisper. 

Putting the box down on top of the pile, he carefully tried to work the leather straps free from the buckles, cursing slightly as they disintegrated in his hands and the metal stuck. He frowned before pulling his knife free and sawing through the two straps. His eyes met Sam’s and he gave a quick glance to the gun and then the ghost, smiling slightly as Sam nodded, understanding the message to be ready.

Sam stepped slightly to the side so he’d have a clear shot if the ghost suddenly did something dangerous when the box was opened. 

Flipping the lid open and jerking back, Dean held his breath for a moment, waiting. 

She sighed happily, moving closer. “There’s a picture in there, would you remove it please?”

Peering inside the box, he frowned at the small jumble of badly tarnished spoons, two cups, and a small leather bag of something. He pushed it all aside and found the frame, face down at the bottom of the box. Pulling it free, he flipped it over and smiled at the photo of the three children standing stiffly in some photographer’s studio. “This?” he said, turning the photo so she could see it.

“Yes,” she breathed out, smiling and nodding. “Yes.”

Sam grinned, asking, “Are those your children?”

As if suddenly remembering he was there, she smiled at him. “Yes, they are, Matthew, Mary, and Luke.” Turning her attention back to Dean, she said, “As I said, you may have the frame as a thank you for your help. He only cared about the frame, I only cared about the photo.”

He shook his head, “No, you should keep it and it will protect the photo better.” Glancing around, he said, “Let’s see if we can find some place to put it that will keep it out of the weather as much as possible.” Propping the photo where she could continue to see it, he quickly rearranged the wood to build a small but study lean to and base and placed the photo inside the enclosure. “It’s not perfect,” he said, shrugging. “But it’s better than nothing.”

She smiled again, “After 104 years, it’s heaven on earth.” Settling on the grass, she stared at the photo, still smiling. 

Glancing at Sam again, he shrugged before turning his attention back to her. “I’m glad we could help.”

Sam stepped slightly closer to her and said in a quiet voice, “We’re happy to help. Are there other … others around here that could also use our help? Or maybe want to be sent … on? We know how to do that.”

She glanced at him and smiled before giving a small shrug. “I’m sorry but I’m unaware. The townsfolk didn’t care much for me in life. If there are any others around, their opinions have surely not improved and I receive no visitors.”

“I’m sorry,” he said awkwardly, glancing at Dean.

Seeing something in her expression change, he stepped closer to his brother. “Come on, Sammy,” he said quietly. “We’re done here.” He nodded toward her, “Glad we could help. We’ll be on our way.”

“You’d think they would have understood,” she said, seemingly not to hear him as her voice rose. “They all knew what a whore Hannah Stinson was and then, when I proved that Abraham was just as bad, blasphemous and sinful ... He was packing up our items in the middle of the day, while I was in town … stealing from me.” Shaking her head, her face grew angry, her words hard. “They should have been grateful that I cleansed the town of both sinners but instead, they said I was just as guilty of sin.” Glaring at them both, she jerked her collar away from her neck, exposing red rope burns, suddenly yelling angrily, “So, no, no one comes around here for tea or to socialize and for that, I’m glad. I’ve had quite enough of their hypocrisy.” 

Stepping back and glancing at Dean, Sam swallowed quickly as the air around them grew suddenly cold.

“And we’re out of here,” he said, carefully taking the shotgun from his brother and ensuring the safety was off. “Let’s go, Sam.”

He nodded quickly, turning and almost running through the field.

Giving the ghost who was once again fully focused on the photo in front of her several quick glances over his shoulder, Dean quickly caught up with him. Once they were a safe distance away, he slowed down and then laughed, bumping against his brother as they made their way back to the car. Flicking the safety back on, he grinned, glancing over and asking, “What do you think, Sam?”

Sam slowly grinned and began to laugh. “OK, that was amazing and scary and so cool! When she jerked her collar down and the marks … Were those there before? I didn’t see them!” Stopping in the path, he turned, saying, “You know, I felt sorry for her at first and then wow, change of direction … suddenly we’re not just talking to a mother who wanted to see a picture of her kids but a double murderer! Right? She killed her husband and his girlfriend, right? Because they were running off together?”

Glancing in the direction of the field and house, Dean scanned it, relieved not to see anything. “Yeah, that’s how I took it too but let’s keep walking. She seemed pretty focused on that photo but I don’t want to take any chances.” 

Sam laughed, nodding and glancing back toward where the ghost had been. “Yeah, she’s crazy.” He smiled broadly before asking, “Want to see if we can find another one?”

He grinned, laughing, “Sure, squirt. What does your research say?”

Pulling out his notebook, he said, “I think we should try further up the road and into the town itself. There have been reports of lights and weird noises.”

Dean nodded, “Sounds like a plan. Let’s go see if we can find Casper.” He grinned as his brother laughed again. He loved that sound, his brother clearly happy and was thrilled that his plan to keep them hunting in a low pressure way, mostly directed by Sam, and with an eye on having fun was achieving exactly what he wanted. 

OOooOOooOOoo

Pulling the car into the garage Thursday afternoon, Dear wearily got out and grabbed the cooler from the backseat, glad to beat the rain home. He and Kimberly had gone for a hike and then a swim at another private inlet, relaxing that afternoon on a small private beach. She had been persistent in finding out when Sam’s soccer camp was and if that meant Dean was going to be free the whole week and have the whole house to himself. The idea of sex with her was both exciting and terrifying and he hoped he had played it cool … encouraging enough to leave the door open to the idea of some fun but also not to lead her on and let her think the relationship was more serious then it was in his mind. From the comments she had made, he guessed she was a virgin and that this was going to be a big step for her and, in her mind, for their relationship. He couldn’t help but be grateful her school was almost 90 minutes away, helping to ease the impending break up. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made him turn, smiling when he saw Bobby’s truck. Dropping the cooler in the laundry room, he waved as he stepped back into the garage. “Hey, you’re early. I wasn’t expecting you until closer to 5:30.”

Getting out of the truck, he smiled, “I was running errands and those didn’t take as long as I thought. I was curious to hear how you thought the trip went.” Following him into the house, he added, “That ghost Sam was telling me about seemed a bit creepy.” Picking up the note propped on a Tupperware container, he skimmed it before saying, “Sam is with two kids named Eddie and George and they’re at the park’s tennis courts or the soccer field,” he said.

He laughed, “Sounds about right. Opening the refrigerator, he pulled out two cokes, passing one over and carrying his to the table. “Yeah, she was interesting but didn’t seem dangerous, at least not dangerous to us. I was a bit concerned that she was going to lose it when she started ranting about her husband and how the town folks hanged her. But after the rant, she didn’t seem to care about us at all. Between me and you, I’m glad we didn’t run into another ghost on that trip even though I think Sam was a bit disappointed. One murderess is enough, don’t need to run into avenging citizens who suddenly see me or Sam as sinners.” Taking a sip of the coke, he said, glancing at the clock. “Sam should be home soon, he usually come screeching into the driveway at 4:59, seconds before his 5:00 curfew.” Laughing, he shrugged, unconcerned. “How are you?” 

“Good,” he said. “Oh, and I should have a cell phone for the kid by the weekend. My contact mailed it to me yesterday.”

Dean nodded, “Excellent, plenty of time before soccer camp.”

“You still planning to stay with me that week to help paint?” Bobby asked, taking a sip of his coke before leaning on the counter and eyeing the Tupperware container on the counter.

He nodded, “Yeah, or at least most of the week. Kimberly is sort of … looking forward to us having a quiet house to ourselves, if you get my drift but I don’t know.” He shrugged, “Just the idea of leading her on, you know? She nice, sweet, I honestly like her but I don’t have time for anything serious. I’ve told her that but am pretty sure she doesn’t get it.”

“And you think that … having some adult fun with her would be leading her on?” Bobby asked slowly, hoping he was handling this conversation correctly. And once again mentally cursing the Hospice and Court advice pamphlets that didn’t deal with the realities of raising two teenage boys.

He shrugged again, “I think … I think I might be her first and I really don’t want to be anyone’s first. Plus … I like her but …” He shook his head again, sighing. “This is just a fun summer thing for me …”

“Hey! I’m home!” Sam yelled, opening the connecting garage door as the automatic garage door slowly shut behind him. Seeing them in the kitchen, he said, “Hey Bobby!” Kicking off his shoes in the laundry room, he came into the kitchen, grinning at his brother. “Bobby’s early because I know I’m not late.”

“Hey kid,” he said, pulling the boy into a quick hug. “How are you? Did you have a good time with your friends?” Mentally filing the conversation with Dean away in his mind, he vowed to himself that he wouldn’t shy away from making them talk about something so important later.

“I know you’re not late,” Dean said, smiling. “And I appreciate it. Did you have a good time? Your note said you were going to the tennis courts and soccer fields?”

He nodded, “Yeah and yeah but it looks like it’s about to storm so we headed in and I was hoping I’d …” A low rumble of distant thunder interrupted him, causing him to laugh, “Yeah, that’s why I didn’t want to be late. It looks like it’s going to pour soon.” Getting a glass of water and taking a long sip, he asked, “How is the Chili’s Girl? Did you guys have a fun … swim?” Grinning, he wiggled his eyebrows, putting special emphasis on the last word.

“Yes, we had a lovely swim,” he said primly before grinning at his brother, shaking his head. Getting up, he said, “We both need to shower and change before dinner and the movies. Bobby, help yourself to some of those cookies you’ve been eyeing and we’ll be back down in about 20 minutes.” Grabbing Sam by the middle, he swung him slightly toward the stairs. “Come on Sammy boy, you’ve got to change for sure. You smell.”

He giggled and in a horrible Terminator impression said to Bobby, “I’ll be back!”

The older man rolled his eyes, “That was horrible, Sam.”

“No, it was good!” he protested, laughing as Dean pushed him toward the steps.

“Move it, Arnold or we’ll be late to the movie. And if we’re late, we won’t have time to get popcorn before the movie and I know you want popcorn, no matter what we have for dinner.” Smiling at Bobby as Sam protested and ran up the stairs, he grinned, adding, “I see nothing wrong with bribing him.”

Grinning, listening to them tease each other, he shook his head as he caved and opened the container of cookies sitting on the counter. Grabbing two, he took a deep breath, once again marveling at the changes in his life in just a year and feeling a familiar pang at what it cost. 

Bumping against Bobby as they walked out of the theater several hours later, Sam grinned at him, asking, “Did you like it? I heard you laugh, a lot!”

He chuckled, “Yeah, it was good, kid. Maybe a bit over the top but it was funny.” Smiling, he added with a shrug, “And if hunters can keep monsters and everything a secret, I can certainly believe little green men, too. Not sure the government can keep that kind of secret but, sure… why not?”

Dean laughed, “It’s something to think about, for sure.” Opening the back passenger door of Bobby’s car, he motioned for Sam to get in before getting in the front. “Have you ever seen anything you thought was an alien?” he asked as Bobby got in. 

He shook his head, “No, I don’t think so but who knows. I’ve certainly heard and seen some things that didn’t fit with any legends or research I was able to dig up.”

“Like what?” Sam asked, leaning forward between the two seats.

“Seatbelt,” Dean ordered, glancing behind him.

Sam huffed before sitting back. “Like what, Bobby?” he asked again.

“Oh, just … weird things,” he said, shaking his head. “Disappearances, some strange symbols that don’t match anything.” Glancing back when they stopped at a red light near the theater, he grinned, “And once, another hunter and I were working a job, some strange murders outside of Phoenix … I saw this guy who looked totally normal but I followed him into an abandoned house because I sensed there was something squirrely about him. In the house, I saw him rip off his skin and he turned into a woman to try to throw me and the other hunter off his trail. How’d you like to see something like that, Sam? His teeth fell out, I found an ear sitting on the floor, and all this ooze.”

“Ewww!” he yelled, making a face. “Gross! He ripped off his skin?” He grinned, “Did you pick up the ear? I’d totally want to pick up the ear as a souvenir!”

“Really, Bobby?” Dean asked, exasperated. Turning to the back seat, he said, “It was a shape shifter, Sam. It’s not like real skin, it’s just like … fake or like a snake shedding his skin.”

“Still, sounds gross,” he said. “I wonder if the ear would get all dried out and crinkly like a snakeskin?”

“It was very gross,” Bobby confirmed, laughing. Turning to Dean, he grinned, “What? We just watched a movie where some guy blew up a giant … roach monster and was covered in … goo and a shape shifter is too gross? At least information on a shape shifter is useful.”

Sam laughed, “That was equally gross and they got covered twice!” Turning to Bobby, he said, “How did you know it was a shape shifter? Did Dad ever fight a shape shifter?”

OOooOOooOOoo

“Sam, I’m leaving,” Dean whispered early Saturday morning. Shaking his brother gently, he smiled as Sam slowly woke up. “I’m leaving,” he repeated. “We’ll go to lunch when I get home. After that, we can practice driving around Bobby’s if you want or head to Glenn’s and shot arrows. We haven’t done that in a few weeks.”

He nodded, yawning. “Sounds like fun, I’m good with arrows. Be careful at work and don’t cut yourself.”

“I will be,” he confirmed. “Don’t forget your chores and I want to see good progress on your next book for school.”

Sam groaned, rolling over and trying to burrow under the covers, “Dean! It’s Saturday!”

Laughing, he said, “And your point, squirt? You said you’d be done with your next book before soccer camp and that’s just over a week away.”

Rolling back over, Sam rolled his eyes and said in an exasperated tone, “I will be! It’s over a week away!”

He laughed, holding up his hands. “Fine, fine, just a friendly reminder.” Leaning down, he quickly kissed his forehead. “Bye.”

Sam grinned, shaking his head before rolling back over. “Bye!” he mumbled.

Pulling into the parking lot just after 7:00, he smiled at the sight of Kimberly’s silver Honda parked near where he and the other vendors typically parked and her sitting on her trunk with two paper cups of coffee and a white bag. “Hey,” he said, getting and walking over. “I was hoping to see you again this morning.”

She smiled, holding out one of the cups. “It seems like a nice little thing we’ve got going on. I wake up ungodly early and bring you your drugs of choice in a parking lot in exchange for making out with you.” Laughing, she kissed him as he stood in front of her. “I’m like your dealer.”

He rolled his eyes and laughed, kissing her back. “Yeah, that’s all your father needs to hear. He already dislikes me, talk like that and he’ll shot me the next time he sees me.” Rubbing her leg, he grinned and leaned in for a longer kiss, hands stroking her inner thigh through her jeans. 

She laughed softly, pulling him closer and allowing her legs to wrap around him. “We’re in a parking lot, Dean,” she whispered, reluctantly breaking away several long minutes later.

He sighed before pulling back and saying, “So?”

Kimberly giggled, glancing around, “And so someone might see us!”

“Fine, fine” he said, smiling and quickly kissing her again before stepping back slightly. Opening the bag, he grinned at the four doughnuts inside. “These look great, but where are yours?”

Kicking him lightly, she said, “Jerk and just for that, I’m making the first choice.” She pulled the bag forward and pulled out chocolate frosted and grinned. “How did your uncle like the movie? I’ve heard it’s great but haven’t gone yet.”

He kissed her again, grinning, “I’d be more than happy to take you to see it, but the last time we went to the movies inside, we didn’t see too much of it.” 

Laughing, she blushed slightly, “And whose fault is that? You wanted to sit in the last row.” She grinned, adding, “And let’s be honest … it was Speed 2, really not talking Schindler's List caliber here.”

He nodded, “Good point. I think Bobby was slightly horrified but also found it really funny. Will Smith would make anyone laugh and we had a good time. It’s always fun doing stuff with him. Sam enjoyed it too, but I swear, as long as I get that kid popcorn, he’d watch paint dry and be happy.” Taking a bite of his own lemon filled, he said, “How was work yesterday?” 

She shrugged, “Fine, busy but I’d honestly rather be busy and making money if I have to be there. Nothing worse than sitting around and having to make small talk all night. I don’t go in today until 3:00 so if you’re free, maybe we can go for lunch when you get off? You’re done around 12:30, right? That’s plenty of time for lunch and maybe a little … dessert if we can find a private spot.”

“Sorry,” he said, frowning slightly. “It’s Saturday, which means Sam does chores in the morning and I reward him by taking him to lunch and then we do something fun.” Giving her a smile, he said, “It’s sort of become our routine and he likes it.” Popping the last of the lemon doughnut in his mouth, he said, “But if you give me some advance notice, I can arrange for him to do something else on a Saturday with some of his friends or Bobby and we could get together for lunch after work and before your work. That’d be fun.” Stroking her leg again, he added, “Especially if we get it to go.” 

She laughed, shifting and shaking her head, saying, “There’s a good pizza place just down the street, too.” Picking up her coffee, she said evenly, “You do a lot with him.” Not looking at him as she spoke, concentrating on her own coffee, she added, “I love my brother and sister but we don’t spend that much time together.”

Shrugging, he took a sip of his coffee before picking up the bag and looking inside. “Two left … do you want the old fashion or the blueberry?”

“How much notice would I need to give you if I wanted to spend time with you on a Saturday beyond this early morning caffeine and sugar run?” she asked. 

Looking at her, he smiled, “A few days but …”

“What?” she asked, taking the bag and pulling out the old fashion. Her voice was even as she looked at him.

“Not next Saturday, the 19th, or the 26th, Sam’s soccer camp is the 21st through the 25th and I’m sure we’ll be busy on the 19th and he’ll just get home the afternoon of the 25th,” he explained. Trying to soften the blow he said, “But my schedule is wide open the whole week he’s gone … maybe I can cook lunch or dinner for us at my place?” 

“If I said that we either get together on the 19th or there’s no chance in hell of … dinner or anything else at your place, what would you say?” she asked. Sipping at her coffee, her doughnut sitting untouched on a napkin on the trunk, she looked at him.

Feeling his eyes tighten slightly, he put down the coffee and gave her a small smile. “I’d say that I was sorry to hear that but right now, my brother is the most important thing in my life and a hell of a lot more important than anything or anyone else. That’s not going to change for at least the next four years and I’m at peace with that decision.” Picking up the coffee cup, he smiled, “Thanks again for breakfast, I need to get to work.” 

“Dean! Wait!” she called as he started walking away. “It was just a question.”

Taking two steps back to her, he smiled, saying evenly, “I know and I answered you.” Leaning in, he kissed her quickly, “I’m not mad you asked but I’m telling you the truth. It’s up to you as to what you want to do with that info. But … don’t tell yourself that I don’t really mean it or I’ll come around or something will change if you do … something. I am being 100% honest with you when I say that everything and everyone will come second to Sam for the next four years.” He shrugged, “Give me a call later, if you want. Have a great day at work.” Turning, he walked toward the market and the group of vendors just starting to set up.

“Looked like you had a nice breakfast this morning out in the parking lot,” Glenn said evenly as they finished setting up the booth. He grinned as Dean glanced at him, adding, “She was pretty and seemed very interested in you.”

Dean blushed slightly before shrugging. “Yeah, just a bit of summer fun before we both get busy with college.”

Slapping him gently on the back, Glenn laughed. “Ah, to be young and enjoy a bit of summer fun again. Just make sure you’re responsible and a gentleman.”

“I know,” he said, laughing. “Trust me, I got the same lecture from my dad several times over the years and then got it again from Bobby a couple of months ago when Kimberly, that’s her name, and I started getting together.” Pulling out the cash box, he flipped it open and began arranging the bills, adding, “I’m not sure who was more horrified by that conversation, me or Bobby.”

The other man laughed, “Oh, I can answer that and I’m sure it was Bobby!”

“Probably,” he said, shaking his head. Spying three black boxes Glenn was pulling out of a plastic tote, he asked, eager to change the subject, “Wow, big order?”

“Two separate orders, but fairly straight forward stuff,” Glenn said. “Anything special about this time of the year? My business has certainly picked up the last couple of months.”

Dean thought for a moment before slowly shaking his head. “No, not really. The summer solstice was a few weeks ago, Samhain isn’t until Halloween … there’s a minor harvest festival on August 1st but I’ve never heard of anything bad or powerful associated with it.” Shrugging, he smiled, “Maybe your reputation is just growing.”

“Maybe,” he confirmed. “Or maybe the Winchester name is lending some respectability or legitimacy to my business.”

He shook his head, “I doubt it.” Smiling, he added, “Or at least certainly not with my name. No one cares who I am, Glenn, and your work speaks for itself.”

The older man shrugged, “We’ll see.”

“But speaking of carrying on the family business, Sam and I were hoping to stop in this afternoon and do some shooting. What’s your afternoon schedule look like? Got any classes?”

“Wide open until 4:00,” he confirmed. “You boys heading over there right after here?”

He shook his head, “No, got to feed Sam first otherwise he’ll use that as an excuse as to why he doesn’t shoot well.”

“I didn’t think you really cared about that?” he asked, remembering the easy teasing and lessons he witnessed between them.

Dean shrugged, “Well, I care that we don’t waste time but I’m also not going to beat him up about how he actually does, as long as we have fun.” He smiled, adding, “Plus, I want to beat him fair and square and not have to listen to his drama about starving to death.”

Glenn laughed, “That I can believe. He’s a good kid though and certainly has the ability to match your skills in a year or two.”

“Yep,” he confirmed, grinning. Hearing footsteps, he turned to see a middle age man approaching carrying two wrapped packages. “Hi, how can I help you this morning?”

OOooOOooOOoo

Trying hard not to feel a pang as he walked into the kitchen on Tuesday afternoon and saw that they had no messages, Dean bit back a sigh. Dropping the few grocery bags on the kitchen island, he said, as Sam came in carrying the mail, “Do me a favor, Sammy and put away the groceries. I need to hit the head and change; my bathing suit is still damp. As soon as you’re done, you need to change too and we’ll get a load of laundry started, including your board shorts and that t-shirt.”

He nodded, “OK! And we’re going to make the peanut butter cookies, right? And watch the Poirot movie we got from the library yesterday?”

Dean grinned, nodding, “Exactly.” Bumping against his brother, he added, “You deserve a treat for finishing your book days before the deadline so … pizza for dinner?” 

“Totally,” he confirmed. “And I told you I’d be finished! It was good and fun to read.”

Heading upstairs, he quickly stripped off the dark red board shorts and tossed them into the laundry basket. Slipping on dry underwear and shorts and a fresh t-shirt, he flopped down on the bed with a sigh, tired after a long day. He had been debating about calling Kimberly all day, feeling as if the ball was in her court, but knew that he was usually the one to call and set up their dates. When they left the pool and stopped at the grocery store on the way home, he had hoped to find a message from her waiting and saying … something. Telling himself it was for the best and one less thing to manage, he sat up and quickly pulled two loads of laundry from his hamper and Sam’s hamper before carrying it back downstairs. 

“Here you go,” Sam said a few minutes later, carrying his own bathing suit, t-shirt, and pool towel. Watching his brother quickly sort out the two loads for a moment, he said, “Do you want me to start the laundry while you get started on the cookies or vice versa?”

He smiled, “Thanks! I’m good either way. Which do you want to do?”

“I’ll get started on the cookies,” he said with a grin. “I had to do three loads of laundry on Saturday and that’s enough! I hate laundry!”

Dean laughed, reaching over and grabbing his brother and tickling him. “Oh no! Three whole loads! Do you know how many loads we do a week, dude?”

“Stop it, Dean!” Sam giggled, trying to curl up to protect himself, twisting and laughing as he was held tight. “Too many! We do too many!”

“That’s right,” he confirmed, kissing the top of his brother’s head before letting him go. “We do like seven or eight loads, which is way too many.” He smiled, ruffling his brother’s hair, “I appreciate all the help I can get.”

He grinned, heading into the kitchen before saying, “I’ve got your back.”

The laundry going several minutes later, he quickly set the oven to preheat and leaned on the counter watching his brother measure out the ingredients. “Need help?” he asked.

Sam shook his head, “Nope, I’ve got it. It’s easy.”

“OK,” he confirmed. “You looked like you were having fun today at the pool. Drama all settled with the girl you sort of, maybe like?”

“Which one?” Sam asked, grinning and looking up from the flour he was measuring out. Laughing, he added, “I guess. Mary Elizabeth is really nice and Emma is funny and then this other girl, Jessica, who doesn’t go very often but she goes to Jason’s church and so she’s there sometimes, too and she’s pretty and I think she likes me. Or at least Jason says she does and asks him about me or has a friend of hers ask him.”

Dean laughed, shaking his head, “Who knew my baby brother was such a player! Three girls, Sammy boy.”

He blushed, shaking his head, “No! I am not! We haven’t really even done anything, so it’s not like they’re my girlfriends.”

Silently mulling over what ‘done anything’ meant in the life of an almost 9th grader, he just nodded. “Well, I’ll tell you the same thing that Dad always told me …”

“What?” he asked, looking up.

He smiled, “Get to know her as a person and that will help like her and her to like you, that’s more important than lust.”

“Lust?” Sam asked, laughing and shaking his head. “Lust? That’s so stupid, Dean.”

He laughed, “Whatever, dude but you know what I’m saying. Like her as a person, don’t just want to make out with her or do something you don’t want to do just because you want to cop a feel. And definitely don’t pressure her into doing anything, but I know you wouldn’t do that because you’re a …” Letting his voice trail off, he looked at his brother expectantly.

“A gentleman who is respectful to women,” Sam completed with a smile. “I know.”

Pushing off from the counter, he quickly gave him a hug, “Exactly. Thank you. Dad would be proud.” He smiled as Sam shot him another quick smile. “Dough looks good, want me to get the pan and we’ll start rolling them out?”

He nodded, “Yeah and then maybe order the pizza once the cookies go in the oven?”

Dean nodded, “Sounds good to me.” 

Flopping down on the sofa 30 minutes later, Sam handed his brother a cookie. “They’re still warm but really good.”

Knowing he should say something about no dessert before dinner but not really caring, he took it and smiled before taking a bite. “Excellent!” he said, nodding. “You did good. Are they all on the rack cooling?”

He nodded, “Yeah, on the counter and I turned the oven to low because the pizza should be here really soon.” Sighing slightly, he leaned against Dean as he ate the rest of the cookie. “Have you read the book for the movie we got?”

“I don’t think so,” Dean said, stretching and grabbing the tape they got from the library. “Peril at End House,” he said, reading the title in a dramatic voice. “It will be a mystery for both of us. I’m glad you liked Death on the Nile. We can get some others if you want from the library or the used bookstore next time we’re there.”

Nodding, he said, “Yeah, it was good. I thought it was sort of interesting that the bad guy, well, bad lady, killed herself at the end and that Poirot knew she was going to do it and sort of allowed it to happen. I thought he was all about justice and the police and all that.”

“That’s a good point,” he said. “Did you bring that up in your book report?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah … it was an interesting moral decision and raises the question of what is justice, especially since she was going to be hanged for her crimes if she was found guilty. Is death by suicide justice or is a trial and jury and the government carrying out an official verdict required for it to be justice? Is death the punishment or is being held responsible by your society and peers and forced to be held accountable for your actions also the punishment?” Twisting around slightly, he grinned, asking, “Good, huh?”

Dean laughed, squeezing him, “Yeah, that’s very good, Sam. I’m impressed.” Looking at him, he said with a slow smile, “Did you rip that off from Cliff Notes?”

“Hey!” he protested, jabbing an elbow into his brother’s side. “Did not! I came up with that all on my own!” 

Laughing, Dean began tickling him, pushing into the sofa cushions. “Then I am doubly impressed, squirt. Very smart and insightful.”

“Stop it!” Sam said, laughing and twisting away. “It was smart and insightful!” Giggling, he rolled away and grinned, standing up, “And just for that, I’m going to go get another cookie and not get you one!”

“No, no more cookies … saved by the bell,” he said, smiling as the doorbell rang. “You want to get it? The money is by the door, just give him the whole $15; we don’t need change.”

Sam nodded, “On it! And you’re the one who is saved by the bell … from having to watch me eat more cookies when you don’t get any.” He laughed, jumping away as Dean tried to grab him again.

Glancing at the phone as it rang just as the movie was ending, Dean answered it. “Hello?”

“Dean, hey, it’s Kimberly,” she said.

“Hi, just a sec,” he said, standing up. Turning to Sam, he said, “Rewind the tape and put it in its box, please. I’ll be in the office.”

He grinned, loudly asking, “Is that your girlfriend?”

Ignoring him, he carried the cordless phone into the office and shut the door. “I’m back,” he said quietly.

“What did you say when Sam asked if it was your girlfriend?” she asked quietly.

He laughed, feeling a slight thaw in the pit of his stomach. “I thought about reminding him I could lock him in a closet with just bread and water and no one would be the wiser. But since we just polished off most of a pizza and probably a dozen cookies while we watched a movie, it seemed like an empty threat.”

She laughed.

“And short of that … I don’t know the answer,” he said quietly. “This is my life and my priorities. How you handle it is up to you.”

“I hope you saved some cookies for us to eat on Thursday,” she said after a minute. “Or are you planning on making new ones for us tomorrow? I’m good either way because I understand and respect that you have limitations on your time and Sam is really important to you and your number one priority right now. I get that and don’t have a problem with it.”

He smiled, “They’re peanut butter with chocolate chips in them.”

“That sounds perfect,” Kimberly confirmed. “Pick me up around 10:30 and we’ll go for a hike and hit our favorite private beach? I’ll bring the food, if you bring the dessert.”

“See you then,” he said.

“I can’t wait.”

Clicking off the phone, he spun slightly in the chair, unsure if he just scored or made a major mistake. 

OOooOOooOOoo

“Everything OK, Sam?” Bobby asked Saturday evening, glancing over at the boy.

He nodded, concentrating on slicing the hamburger buns. “Yeah,” he said quietly.

Bobby nodded, “OK. You’ve just been kinda quiet all evening. Are you thinking about your trip on Monday? Maybe kind of nervous?”

Shrugging, he said quietly, “Nope, not really, I’m good. It’ll be fun, I’m sure.” He smiled quickly, adding, “And, I don’t want to mess these up or I’ll never hear the end of it from Dean.” Putting the third sliced bun down on the counter, he walked toward the stairs and yelled, “Dean!”

“Sam, don’t yell in the house,” Bobby ordered. “Take five seconds and …”

“What?” Dean yelled from upstairs.

Sam glanced over his shoulder and grinned, shrugging before taking two steps closer to the stairs and yelled in a slightly softer voice, “Do you want your hamburger bun toasted or grilled?”

“Whatever you and Bobby are doing is fine with me!” he yelled back.

“What do you prefer?”

“Sam!” Bobby barked.

He laughed, grinning at the older man before yelling up the stairs, “Never mind!” Coming back into the kitchen, he giggled, dancing away as Bobby flicked a towel at him. “Sorry!” he said with another grin.

He shook his head, “You two are a mess. It’s like non-stop noise with you boys around.”

Sam giggled again, leaning in and hugging him, “Awww, but you love us anyway, Uncle Bobby.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said gruffly, shaking his head and smiling.

“What can I help with?” Dean said, coming into the kitchen, hair damp from his shower after helping to caulk cracks in the house in preparation to start painting on Monday. 

Bobby nodded toward the table, “You can set the table, please. The burgers will be done in about 5 minutes, the onion rings are in the oven to stay hot and your cohort is doing … something with the buns.”

Sam laughed, “That’s me! I’m a cohort.” Smiling at his brother, he said, “I’m just toasting the buns because Bobby hit me when I got too close to the stove.”

“I did not!” he protested, shaking his head.

“I’m sure you deserved it,” Dean said at the same time and then laughed. “Don’t worry, Bobby, I hit him all the time.” Passing by his brother on his way to the refrigerator, he bumped him gently, “Don’t I, Sammy boy?”

“Yep, all the time,” he confirmed solemnly before laughing again. 

“So good,” Sam said, eating an onion ring several minutes later.

Dean nodded, “Excellent, as always, Bobby.”

He smiled, “Good, I’m glad you boys like it.” Taking a bite of his own burger, he said, “Tell me about this movie you brought over for us to watch.”

Sam laughed, “Oh! You’ll love it! Since you liked Men in Black so much and the idea of aliens …”

“Not Alien again,” he said, shaking his head. 

Dean laughed, “No and we shouldn’t ruin it for you. It’s best if you go in sort of blind. But, this isn’t really scary and stars Will Smith again. It’s … patriotic and really … sort of a flag waving, go USA, kind of movie.” He grinned, exchanging smiles with his brother. “Trust us, Bobby. You’ll like it.”

“Uh huh,” he said. Looking between them, he added dryly, “I’m sure.” 

Sam giggled, taking a bite of his burger before saying, “Trust us.”

Shaking his head again, Bobby asked, “Did you get that protection spell performed by Beatrice this afternoon?”

Next to him, Sam sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Yes,” Dean said, nodding. “She took care of it and Sam swore not to take off the bracelet that’s binding it.” Eyeing his brother, he said, “Right, Sam? You promised?”

Huffing, he said, “Right, even though I look like a dork!” Thrusting his right wrist at Bobby, he said, “Right? It’s like a … friendship bracelet, like girls wear.”

Eyeing the thin multi-colored braided bracelet, he said, “It’s fine, Sam. No one will notice or if they do, just tell them it brings you luck and you got it on vacation. It’s cool, sort of tribal and worldly. Aren’t soccer players always doing stuff like that? I bet your friends will like it.”

He rolled his eyes again, eating another onion ring and shrugging. “Maybe,” he said with another huff.

Biting back a laugh, he turned his attention to Dean. “And how was work today?”

Dean laughed, “Oh, it was fine. Glenn said to tell you hi, by the way. His special orders side of the business is going strong and that makes him happy. I think he likes the challenge of those orders.”

“Dean has doughnuts and coffee in the morning now before work with his girlfriend,” Sam said, grinning.

Bobby laughed, “That’s nice of her.” Quickly debating how to ask, he said, “I’m assuming … you’re meeting … somewhere and not …” Glancing quickly at Sam, he returned his gaze to the older boy, eyebrow raised.

“Sam! Tales out of school!” he protested, shaking his head before smiling at Bobby. “We meet in the parking lot of the Farmers’ Market and she brings doughnuts and coffee and we just chat. It’s not a big deal but nice to see each other, even if it’s just for 20 or 30 minutes.” Kicking his brother gently, he shook his head as his brother snorted, “Get your mind out of the gutter, Sammy.”

Sam giggled and shrugged. “Consider it pay back for making me wear this dorky protection bracelet. At least the iron one is cool and neat looking.” Eyeing his wrist again, he shook his head, “This one is just … girly and stupid.”

“Enough,” Dean ordered firmly. “Drop it. You’ve expressed your opinion, multiple times, in the last six hours, and I’m now officially telling you to drop it.” Looking at his brother, he said in a quiet voice, “Clear?”

He nodded, “Yeah.” Focusing his attention back on his food, he sighed. “Still …”

“Are you tired?” Dean asked pointedly.

“No, sorry, never mind, dropping it.”

Dean smiled, “Good. Thank you.” Turning his attention back to Bobby, he said, “Glenn said he’s has an uptick in business the last couple of months. Have you heard of anything big going on?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. Just the normal stuff but nothing out of the ordinary.” Taking a bite of his burger, he said after a moment, “Let’s see … last couple of months, I’ve heard about …” 

Listening to the older man, Dean glanced over at his brother, kicking him lightly under the table.

Sam glanced over and smiled slightly as Dean smiled at him. Touching the bracelet on his wrist, he shrugged before grinning. “Promise,” he whispered.

OOooOOooOOoo

Pulling into the school parking lot early Monday morning, Dean smiled, saying, “Ready?”

Sam took a deep breath and nodded. “Yeah.” Flashing a quick smile, he shifted nervously in his seat before nodding again, “Yeah.”

“Got your phone and the charger?”

“Yeah and I know to charge it on Wednesday,” he confirmed. “If I need anything or if there’s any problems, I’ll call. Plus, I have salt, my butterfly knife, and a thin iron chain for protection.” Taking another deep breath, he smiled, “This is going to be fun.”

Dean nodded again, “Yep and you are going to have a great time.” Pushing down his own fears, he said, “Want me to walk you to the bus? I can hug you bye there.”

“No!” Sam yelped, horrified and then grinned when he saw Dean’s smile. “Jerk,” he said laughing.

“OK, squirt,” he said, leaning in and pulling his brother in close across the bench seat. Kissing him quickly on the forehead, he hugged him tightly saying, “Have a great time, Sammy. I’ll be here waiting for you on Friday.”

“You know 4:30, right?” Sam said quietly, leaning into the hug. “We should be back around 4:30, so maybe …”

Hugging him tighter, recognizing the resurgence of a long held worry, he said, “I’ll be here in plenty of time, I promise. I won’t let you be the last one picked up and I’d never forget you.” 

Sam nodded against him, “OK.”

Finally letting go, Dean said, “OK, get your bag and get out of here. I’m going to go get doughnuts for me and Bobby and then get to painting.” He grinned, “See all the fun you’re going to miss?”

He laughed, “I’ve helped! A lot!”

“Yes, yes, you did and you’ll be so impressed when you see Bobby’s house on Friday,” he confirmed. A horn lightly honked and he glanced over, seeing a minivan pull up. “And look, Ray is here, too. You guys can go in together.”

Rolling his eyes, he grinned, getting out of the car and grabbing his duffle bag from the backseat. “Hi!” he said, waving as Ray got out of the backseat. 

Getting out of his car, he walked over to the driver’s side window. “Morning, how are you?”

Agnes smiled, “It’s early but at least I will be one kid down for the week so that should make up for it.” Turning around as her son opened the sliding back door, she said, “Bye sweetie, love you! Have fun and I’ll see you on Friday!”

Ray blushed, “Bye Mom!”

Turning around, Sam waved again and walked toward the buses.

She laughed, “I swear to you, Dean, you’d think after four of them … coming and going and all the camps over the years, it would be easier but it’s still hard, no matter how much I pretend it’s not.” 

“Oh great! Thanks Agnes! Here I was thinking that you were doing so great, it would get easier after I send him off another three or four times …”

Shaking her head, she said, “Nope, at least not for me. Raymond though… he just jokes that’s why we had a bunch. This way if we lost one or two along the way … there’s backups.”

Dean smiled, eyes trained on Sam now at the bus, passing over his duffle bag and chatting with two other boys before climbing on. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to say, “I’m due at my uncle’s, we’re painting his house this week, but I’m sure I’ll see you on Friday.” Getting into his car a moment later, he forced himself to drive away and not sit, watching the bus. 

“Sam get off OK?” Bobby asked as Dean came into the kitchen carrying a small box of doughnuts. Sipping at his coffee, he asked, “And, how are you?”

Dean grinned, sitting down. “Yes and … I’ll get back to you on that one. I know he’ll be fine; I know he’ll have a good time, I just …” He paused, giving an embarrassed shrug, “I just want him to have a good time and be happy and feel normal.”

Bobby laughed, “I get it, kid. And I’m glad you’re here, no good will come out of you sitting at your house alone, thinking too much. I plan on working you to death here between now and Friday.”

Dean laughed, opening the doughnut box and selecting a coconut one. “Thanks, Bobby,” he said simply, smiling.

Getting up to refill his coffee, he paused, ruffling the younger man’s hair, “Always.” He laughed as Dean ducked away. “Oh no,” he said, bending down and hugging him from behind before kissing his head. “You don’t get away that easily.”

He laughed again, closing his eyes briefly and taking a deep breath as he gripped the other man’s arms briefly. “It’ll be a good week.”

“Yeah, it will,” he confirmed giving Dean another quick hug before sitting back down and selecting a cruller. “So, tell me … did you decide how to handle your girlfriend situation? Home cooked meal this week with her? You didn’t seem like you were too thrilled with the idea or at least the impression she was getting.”

He shrugged slightly, blushing before saying, “I won’t be around on Wednesday. She’s got the day off so I told her we could go out or I was happy to cook for her and then we’ll see what happens.”

Bobby studied him for a moment before saying, “Is that what you want?”

“Yeah, it’s fine,” he said lightly, taking a bite of doughnut. “What’s the schedule like for today? What are we tackling first?”

Trying to decide how to handle the situation, he decided to let it go and trust the other man. Giving a small laugh, he said, “I have a plan and I’ll try to make sure you’re not too sore to have fun when Wednesday rolls around but no promises.” Laughing again, he grinned as he sipped his coffee.

Dean groaned, putting his head down on his folded arms.

OOooOOooOOoo

“I still can’t believe you live here, with just Sam,” Kimberly said, looking around the living room. “It’s like … a real house. I’ve visited my cousins before, they’re both older and each have apartments and their places look like college kids live here. This looks like where my friends would live with their parents. You have flowers and patio furniture and what looks to be vegetables growing in the back yard, even.”

Not really sure if that was a compliment or just an observation, Dean simply laughed. “The vegetables are all Sam’s. He harvested his first few carrots last week and was insanely proud. We’ve been eating the spinach as it comes up and the onions should be ready, I think, in a few weeks.” Motioning toward the calendar, he said with a smile, “He’s got a schedule.”

“He’s so cute,” she said coming into the kitchen. Looking at the three photos stuck there with magnets and pointed to one, “Your trip to Mt. Rushmore a few weeks ago, right?”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, we had some random tourist take that one of us with the mountain and then we went to Deadwood and Sam really wanted to do the whole … dress up like gun slingers and have our photo taken thing, so we did that, too. The one on the left was taken during a camping trip when I graduated back in May and the one below that was taken at Bobby’s over my birthday in January. The gun slinger photo is upstairs. We’ll get a frame for it and start hanging family photos up there eventually.”

Moving closer, she said, “Maybe I can see that one after lunch?”

He smiled, kissing her quickly and nodding. “Whatever you want to do but no pressure from me.”

She nodded, “Thanks.” Hoisting herself up on the kitchen counter, she said, “So, what is for lunch anyway? I thought I smelled bacon?”

“Chicken salad sandwiches on fresh baked croissants with bacon and lettuce and then just chips and I made lemon bars,” he said. “I made the chicken salad a few weeks ago and it was really good so I wanted to make it again for us. It has cranberries and pecans in it. The croissants are just the big ones from a can but they taste good.”

“You know, most guys would have just thrown a frozen pizza in the oven or hot dog,” she said. “I’m impressed and just …” Grinning, she shook her head, “You just don’t act like the guys from my high school. You’re … different and don’t seem like the normal, stupid guys my friends go out with. You’re like an adult.”

Trying hard not to read anything negative into her comments, he smiled, “My cooking isn’t the only thing impressive about me.” Coming over, he stood in front of her and leaned in, kissing her. “Everything is already cooked but we don’t have to eat now. We can do whatever you want, whenever you want.”

She sighed, closing her eyes as she kissed him back, wrapping her legs around him. “I want to see your gun slinger picture upstairs,” she whispered, breaking off after a long minute.

He nodded, “Sounds good to me.” Helping her off the counter, he led the way upstairs, knowing he could make her first time good and special and hoping she was being honest with herself on what she wanted and what he could give her.

Taking a sip of his beer, Bobby watched Dean at the stove for a long minute before saying, “Everything go OK with lunch and your girlfriend?”

“Yeah,” he said evenly, stirring the sautéing peppers and onions and not looking at the other man. 

He sighed softly, “I feel that I should say something to you about this, Dean. You know … make sure you used protection, make sure it was really what you wanted, because it’s not just if she wanted to do it, it’s important that you wanted to, too.” Watching the younger man quickly flip the grilling brats over on the grill pan, he said, “I’m sure John covered all this already … but …”

Dean gave a sharp laugh, shaking his head as he took a sip of the half of glass of beer the other man had poured him. “Dad’s idea of sex ed was giving me a pamphlet from some health clinic, some magazines, a box of condoms, and telling me to make sure I used one every time.” Looking over his shoulder, he smiled and shrugged, “Tell me you pictured that conversation going differently?” Giving another quick laugh, he added, “He did a bit better with Sam a couple of years later but I ended up filling in more of the details and clearing up some of the more confusing aspects.”

“Yeah, sounds about right,” he said, nodding and trying not to frown. Taking another small sip, he said, “But I do want to ask how you’re feeling and if it was what you really wanted to do. Last time we talked …”

“I’m good, it was fine and yes, it’s what I wanted to do, Bobby,” he said firmly. Giving the other man a tight smile, he said, “I like her, it’s been awhile, it was good to get back on the horse if you will and god knows when I’ll have another chance. She’s going to school over in Yankton – Mount Marty University, so a good hour away. That will help kill this relationship, I think, and help make sure it’s just a bit of summer fun. I just want something easy and fun and hopefully leave her with some good memories.” He nodded toward the brats, “And these are done, the buns are toasted, so if you want to grab some plates, we’ll eat. I’m starving.”

He nodded, “Looks good, kid and I appreciate you taking over dinner tonight.”

Dean smiled, “Least I could do and we can have the baked bean again tomorrow for lunch with brats again or just hot dogs.” Taking the offered plates, he quickly dished out the food before handing Bobby’s plate to him before picking up his own glass and food and sitting down at his normal place. “We’re still taking Sam out for Chinese on Friday night, right?”

Putting down his own plate, Bobby studied the younger man sitting at the table before quickly smacking him across the back of the head. “Idjit,” he said, shaking his head before sitting down.

“What was that for?” Dean, yelped, rubbing his head. “I didn’t do anything!”

Bobby laughed slightly, shaking his head. “I swear, boy. I’m trying to do right by you and your brother. I read the stuff Hospice and the Court sent me. I’ve even started my own research and reading at the library and they all list sex on their Must Talk About With Your Teens lists.”

Dean groaned, burying his head in his hands. “It’s fine, Bobby, I swear to you. I promise … this wasn’t my first rodeo or anything.” Looking at the other man, he added, “Between school sex ed, movies, magazines, locker room talk, and my own experience … I got it. I’m responsible, I promise.”

“You’re also only 18,” he said firmly. Holding up his hand as Dean started to protest, he added, “I know, you’re not a kid but you’re not the all-knowing adult you act like you are or, maybe … think you have to be.”

He shrugged slightly, saying, “It’s fine, I promise.” Turning his attention back to his food, he sighed, taking a bite of the beans. “These turned out well.”

Knowing he couldn’t push, Bobby simply nodded before saying, “They smell good. And yes, to Chinese with Sam Friday night. I’ll even order the pu pu platter that always cracks him up.” Taking a bite of his bratwurst, he asked, “So we have the south side of the house and that trim and the front porch and that side and trim left to tackle. What sounds good to you?” 

Dean laughed, “Honestly?”

“No,” Bobby said, grinning. “Let’s consider that a more hypothetical question … I don’t care what sounds good, I’m more interested in what sounds like what part of this project you are willing to tackle and what part should I plan on doing?”

Laughing, he smiled, “Yeah, that sounds more honest.”

Washing the dinner dishes 30 minutes later, Bobby said, “Hand me that last plate, please.”

“Here you go,” he said, passing over the plate. Standing next to the older man at the sink, he sighed and gently bumped him. “You know, you don’t have to worry about doing right by me and Sam, you’re an old hand at that already,” he said quietly.

Pulling him into a quick side hug, Bobby kissed the top of his head, “It’s easy with a kid like you, boy.” He smiled, letting Dean pull away embarrassed. 

He ducked his head, grinning, before saying, “I think the Twins are playing Kansas City tonight, if you want to watch that.”

Bobby nodded, “Sounds good and we’ll have some of those lemon bars you made last night for dessert.” Moving into the living room, he sat on the sofa and flipped on the TV. “Good, still warming up,” he said as he found the game. “Considering Kansas City is as crappy as we are, we might stand a chance tonight.”

Dean laughed, sitting down on the sofa next to him and putting his feet on the coffee table. “Famous last words,” he said.

Glancing over at him, Bobby shifted his arm slightly and pulled the younger man in closer as he had seen Dean do multiple times over the years with Sam. 

He sighed slightly, nodding, and then smiled as he relaxed into him. “Thanks Bobby. This was a hard year but it would have been impossible without you.”

Hugging him again, he said, “It has been my honor and pleasure, Dean.” Then, lightening the mood, he added, “And of course, I’m really just keeping you around so you can keep cooking and doing slave labor around the house for me.”

Dean laughed loudly, “Of course! I knew it!” He chuckled, shaking his head and grinning. “So funny, Uncle Bobby.”

“Idjit,” he said, rubbing the younger man’s head. 

OOooOOooOOoo

Pulling up to the school just before 4:00 on Friday, he wasn’t surprised to see the parking lot empty and that he was the first one to arrive. He had been half watching the clock since lunch, finally seeing it flip to 3:00 as he helped rinse out the paint sprayer they had been using to paint the house. Forcing himself to grab his book from the passenger seat, he opened it up and tried to read. Glancing up for what was probably the 50th time at the sound of the school bus 25 minutes later, he smiled and forced himself not to get out of the car and embarrass his brother. He had parked where the Impala was easily visible in the more crowded parking lot. The sight of Sam getting off the bus a moment later, chatting happily with two other kids, released a knot of tension he hadn’t been aware of until it dissipated. He could tell the second Sam spotted the car and he stuck his hand out of the open window and waved. 

Grabbing his duffle bag from the pile being tossed out from the bus storage, he hurried over. “Hey!” he said as he got closer. 

“The back door is open,” Dean called through the open windows. 

Sam tossed his bag in the back and slid into the passenger seat, still smiling.

“Hey Sammy!” he said, pulling his brother close and hugging him tightly. “Welcome home!”

He laughed, hugging him back, hanging on for a long moment and taking a deep breath before finally breaking free. “Thanks!”

Kissing him quickly on the head, Dean hugged him again, “Did you have a good time? Bobby and I can’t wait to hear all about it at dinner tonight.”

“Chinese?” Sam asked, grinning. “We said Chinese, right?”

Nodding, he said, “Yep and I already got Bobby promising to order the pu pu platter.”

Sam giggled, “Good and I’m starving! The food was horrible, worse than school even though I don’t know how that’s possible.”

Dean laughed, “It’s a skill for sure.” Waving to several mothers he knew as they pulled away from the parking lot, he glanced over at Sam and ruffled his hair. “I’m really glad you’re home, Sammy.”

“Did you miss me?” he asked, grinning.

He laughed, “Damn straight, I did! Did you miss me?”

Sam nodded, “Damn straight!” Holding out his right wrist, he waved it at his brother, “And see! I promised.”

Glancing over, he grinned, “Thank you. I guess I can put the coats back in the closet since you won’t be locked in there tonight.”

Sam giggled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes, “Like Bobby would let you do that!”

Dean snorted, glancing at him again and smiling. Nodding toward his brother’s bracelet, he said, “You don’t think Bobby would skin you alive if you took that off?”

He laughed, “I’m not going to find out. Plus, actually … some guys found it really cool and … my team sort of all made them and we used them for good luck. We came in 3rd, out of 12 teams!” Glancing over at Dean, he grinned and gave a small shrug. “So, I guess it was OK.”

Grasping his chest, Dean made choking noises and shook his head. “Be still my heart! Did you just admit that something Bobby and I both told you would be fine and maybe seen as kind of cool and not dorky and not a big deal was … in fact, fine, cool, not dorky and actually turned out to be widely popular?” Laughing, he shook his head again, “Will wonders never cease.” Turning onto Bobby’s road, he laughed as Sam rolled his eyes and laughed with him. 

“Wow!” Sam exclaimed as they pulled into the long dirt driveway at the start of the property and saw the freshly painted house. “Did you guys do that? It looks so good!”

Pulling the car into his normal parking spot, he held out his hand, “Yeah, we did and I’ve got the blisters to prove it.” Looking at the blue and white house, he smiled, nodding, “But it turned out really nice. I think the fence is next on the list so we might …”

“Bobby! Hi!” Sam said, interrupting his brother and pushing his door open as the older man came out the side patio door. “The house looks fantastic! I’m so sorry I missed all the work,” he added, laughing. “Dean just showed me his blisters and I really wish I was here!”

Rolling his eyes, Bobby pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him quickly. “Welcome back, kid and yeah, I can just hear the disappointment in your voice. But never fear, still plenty for you to help with. How was camp? Did you have a good time?”

“Yeah and …,” he grinned and holding up his right wrist, waving it slightly.

“Good for you,” he said, nodding at the sight of the string bracelet.

“And tell him your story, Sam,” Dean called out, following them into the house. “You should sit down for this part, Bobby,” he warned and then laughed as Sam glanced behind him and rolled his eyes. 

OOooOOooOOoo

“Move your feet, squirt,” Dean said, coming out onto the screened porch late Tuesday afternoon after he got home. 

Pulling his feet off one of the other patio chairs he had moved in front of him, Sam smiled, “Did you have a good time with the Chili’s Girl?”

Dean laughed, “I did. She has to work tonight but it was a fun lunch and then we went to the movies and saw Contact, which you wouldn’t have liked.”

“No aliens?”

He shook his head, “Right, no aliens, lots of talking, and a weird ending.”

Sam made a face, “Skip, for sure. Did you look at that research I did with Bobby’s help? What do you think it is? Some sort of … black dog, maybe? The reports that he showed me said that several of the people died and had all reported seeing or hearing something dog like. Black dogs are thought to be death omens.”

He nodded, “I did see your research and I think it’s interesting, for sure. Not sure what it is but we have time to do some more research and a black dog death omen is a good guess.” Tapping the book his brother was reading, he asked, “How’s this coming?”

“It’s OK, they’re almost in Hong Kong with a woman whose family was going to burn her alive because her husband died,” he confirmed, shrugging. “It’s kind of … wordy, like he takes a paragraph to say something that could be said in a sentence. It also makes me really happy we have cars now and could fly to like Washington in a couple of hours and it probably took him that long just to get from London to the coast for a boat. And now, there’s even a tunnel that’s connecting England and France! I bet that would blow his mind.”

Dean laughed, “Probably.” Smiling he asked, “If we plan to go check out those weird reports of some sort of animal that may or may not be a black dog on Saturday, think you can have your book done either before we leave or finish it on our trip?”

Sam grinned, nodding, “Yeah, for sure.”

“And you’ll write your report as soon as we get back?” he asked, eyeing his brother. “Or maybe on Friday when you’re at Bobby’s house, if he doesn’t work you to death.”

He groaned, “Are we working at Bobby’s again? I thought the house was done!”

“Not we, you,” Dean corrected, nudging his brother with his foot. “I’ve got that campus tour on Friday and will be gone all day and then there’s some sort of … meet and greet thing in the late afternoon so I won’t be back until probably 6:00 or 7:00 and I don’t want you alone that long.”

Sam huffed, “I have friends, you know …”

“Who all have parents who have their own schedules and I don’t like the idea of you being on your own for 10 plus hours, Sam, when I’m out of town,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “So, Bobby will be here mid-morning, you guys can do whatever you want and I’ll pick you up either at his house and we’ll have dinner or maybe I’ll meet you guys somewhere. Friday morning you can do some of your Saturday chores, if you want. We’ll leave right after I get home from work, like normal.”

“Fine,” he sighed. Making a face, he added, “It doesn’t seem fair.”

“Do I look like I care?” Dean asked. When his brother glanced at him, he made a stupid face, contorting his tongue and eyes, mouth gaping open. 

He laughed, rolling his eyes. 

“And to cap off how unfair and horrible your life is,” he said, smiling. “Your book report? Done when we get home from hunting?”

Sam grinned, nodding, “Promise.” 

He nodded, “OK, then it’s a deal. We’ll go on another hunting trip this weekend if you get your book done by Thursday. When I looked at the calendar, I think we have four more weekends, counting this one, until school starts so if you play your cards right, we might be able to get one more hunt in after this one.”

Sam grinned, “Cool and yeah, we totally can. I’ll finish this stupid book on Thursday and I can start my next one during our trip. You owe me my nonfiction book, remember? You said I’d like it, which would be a nice change because the rest of these have been fine but I wouldn’t say I like them really. Well, I liked Death on the Nile but that was like a normal book and the movie was better.”

Deciding to let the negative commentary go as just normal complaining, Dean nodded, “I do and I actually have it in the kitchen. I picked it up today when Kimberly and I went to eat at the diner near the used bookstores. I ran in there because I kept hoping it would turn up. If not, I figured we’d go to Barnes & Noble this week.”

Glancing at his book in his hands, he quickly judged how much was left. Giving his brother a slow smile, he said, “Can I see it now? I’m like almost halfway done and I promise to finish it first.”

Dean laughed, “OK, let me go grab it.” Coming back a minute later, he handed it to his brother. “Do you remember last year in May, there was a bad climbing accident on Mt. Everest and a bunch of people died?”

Sam shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

“Dad and a bunch of other hunters were talking about it for a couple of weeks,” Dean said. “I thought you might remember hearing those conversations or the news. But it was sort of mid-May and school was getting out and it’s not like something we’d have helped with anyway.” 

Looking at it, he read out loud, “Into Thin Air … huh. And it’s good?”

Dean nodded, “Very, I think you’ll like it. I read it in like … two days and had trouble putting it down.” Pointing to the author’s name, he said, “He writes for magazines, so he has a very easy to read, engrossing way of writing.”

“Cool,” Sam said, smiling again. “Why was Dad all interested in it? Mt. Everest is over in … India?”

“Nepal,” Dean corrected, “but you’re close. It’s on the Nepal China border and Nepal is on the north east border of India. Dad was interested just because it was so bad of a disaster and there was some talk in the community because one of the people who died was Japanese and like the day before or the day after, someone from Taiwan was also killed. There was some discussion if a yuki-onna was on the mountain and picking off people or personally going after someone.”

Flipping through the book and looking at some of the pictures, Sam said, “But they didn’t find anything?”

He shook his head, feeling that he had accidently just stumbled into a minefield. “Not that I heard of but you can ask Bobby.” Wanting to change the subject before his brother thought too much about the previous summer and what else had been on John’s mind and occupying his time, he said, “Don’t forget, you promised to finish Around the World, first.”

Sam grinned, “I won’t.” Putting it down on the table, he sighed and picked up his other book. “Want to sit out here with me and read? It’s nice out here.”

“I’d love to,” he said. “Let me get my book.” Standing up, he looked around the small backyard with its neatly cut lawn and Sam’s vegetable planters. It was clean and private, in a neighborhood that was safe and quiet and a far cry from so many of the other neighborhoods they had lived in and miles away from the endless hotels. Feeling his eyes prick with tears, he coughed slightly before heading back into the house, pushing away memories.

“Can you also bring me a brownie?” Sam yelled.

Dean laughed, shaking his head as he was pulled further away from the darkness. Pausing at the foot of the steps, he yelled back, “I can … do you want me to?”

“Dean!” Sam yelled, laughing. “You know what I mean!”

Laughing, he climbed the stairs to his bedroom, grinning as he heard his brother laugh with him.

OOooOOooOOoo


	5. August

August 

Letting himself into the house just before 11:00am on Friday morning, Bobby called out, “Sam! I’m here!” The house was quiet and he felt a slight chill settle in his stomach. Even when Sam was home alone, the house still seemed to be filled with noise … the TV, the washer or dryer, some game on the computer but this morning, he was greeted with nothing. “Sam!” he yelled again, heading upstairs. A quick glance in their bedrooms showed both beds neatly made. Going back downstairs, he went into the laundry room, stepping over a pile of laundry on the floor. A finished load was in the washer but the dryer was empty. Trying hard not to worry, he went back into the kitchen, double checking he hadn’t missed a note on the counter or table. Sam’s phone sat charging on the kitchen counter next to the coffee maker and a single cereal bowl and spoon were in the sink. Trying not to panic, he went into the garage and sighed slightly when he saw that Sam’s bike was missing. “Balls,” he muttered, shaking his head. Glancing at his watch, he promised to give the boy 15 minutes to get home before he went out looking. 

“Hey Sam,” Dean said quietly, glancing around the lunch line. “What’s up?”

“It’s me,” Bobby said slowly. “You at lunch?”

Feeling his stomach clench, he frowned, “Yeah, I’m in line now. What’s up? Where’s Sam?”

“I’m not sure,” he said slowly. “I’m sure he’s fine but he’s not here.”

Stepping out of line and moving toward the open quad area, Dean asked, “What do you mean he’s not there? He’s supposed to be home, he knew you were coming to get him.” Pushing outside, he took a deep breath, trying not to panic and focus on solving the problem. “What does the house look like? Are the protection seals in place? Any sulfur by the windows? Did you check the basement and panic room? He knows …”

“The house looks fine,” Bobby said, interrupting him. “Nothing is broken, the basement door was still locked but I went down there too, just in case. His bike is gone, which makes me think he took off on his own. His phone is here, though.”

“Yeah,” Dean said, nodding. Closing his eyes, he said, “OK … let me call some of his friends …”

“I drove around the whole neighborhood,” Bobby said. “I checked the park; I asked a couple of groups of kids who look to be his age and no luck.” He sighed, “I got here around 11:00 and gave him some time before I went out and now …”

“So, he’s been missing at least an hour,” Dean said, feeling sick. “I’m going to call some of his friends’ houses and see if he’s there and that’s why you couldn’t find him.” 

“I’ll call Jason’s mom,” Bobby volunteered. “I have her number from Millie and that will at least save you a call.”

He nodded, “Did you check the park pool by any chance? They don’t open until 10:00 so I can’t imagine …”

Bobby shook his head, “I didn’t but will run over there as soon as we get off the phone.”

“OK,” Dean said slowly, taking a deep breath. “Let me call a few people and I’ll call you back on your cell phone.”

“Call me on Agent Quinn’s phone,” Bobby said. “I’m helping Caleb with a job and have that phone with me, too. I’ll make my calls on my cell and leave the house phone open just in case Sam tries to call it or … anyone else.”

Dean nodded, “OK, I have that number, too.” He breathed out, “God … Bobby … what …”

He shook his head, looking around the quiet kitchen, “No, do not go there, Dean. I’m sure he’s fine. He’s on his bike somewhere and I just missed him, I’m sure. Or he’s at the pool for some reason and I …” His voice cut off as he heard the front door open. “Damnit!” he barked, “I think he just walked in.”

Feeling a wave of relief wash over him, Dean closed his eyes, straining to make out the conversation in the house.

“Hi,” Sam said a second later. “Bobby got here early …”

“Are you OK?” he asked, trying to keep the panic out of his voice.

“Yeah,” he said. “I ran to the library and then George and Jason … “

“Put Bobby back on the phone, Sam,” Dean ordered. 

Sam huffed, “Don’t you want to hear what happened and where I was?”

Closing his eyes and trying not to snap at his brother, he said, “Were you abducted by aliens or kidnapped from the house?”

“No,” he said. “But Bobby wasn’t due here until …”

“Then no, I really don’t care right now, Sam,” he snapped, interrupting. “You left without leaving a note which is like our number one never break house rule and two, you left without your phone. Unless you were whisked away without your consent, then you chose to do both of those things.”

“Dean …” he said, shaking his head.

“Put Bobby back on the phone, Sam,” he said firmly. “I will talk to you when I get home.”

“Fine!” he snapped, thrusting the phone at the older man. 

“Is he OK?” he asked when Bobby answered. In the background he heard Sam yell something.

“He’s fine,” Bobby said.

“What’s he yelling about?”

He sighed, “Best as I can tell, just bitching and moaning about how unfair life is. He just went stomping upstairs.”

Despite the situation, he laughed, “Yeah, welcome to my life.” Closing his eyes again, he took a deep breath before asking, “But he’s fine, right?”

“Yeah, he’s fine, I promise,” Bobby said evenly. “No scrapes, no bruises, looks fresh as a daisy.”

Looking around the campus and then toward the food court, he could see his small tour group gathering to eat around a large table. Suddenly the idea of going to sit down with a bunch of kids who had nothing more pressing on their minds then Greek Rush Week, football games, and what their roommates would be like, seemed overwhelming and pointless. 

“Dean …”

The sound of the older man’s voice jarred him back to the phone and made him think it wasn’t the first time Bobby had said his name. “Yeah, sorry, I’m here. I was just mentally running through the day’s agenda and I think we’ve covered everything. I’m going to bail from here and …”

“You will do no such thing,” he snapped. “Sam is home, he’s fine, and I’m going to haul his butt back to my house as we planned. You will finish your tour, do your social stuff and whatever else you were planning on doing down there. Getting back to my place early evening, as we planned, is perfect.” He paused, letting his words sink in. “Do I make myself clear, boy? I will not be happy if you are back before 6:00.”

“Bobby …” he said quietly. “I don’t … they are dealing with stuff that has no relevance to me. I’m here to find out how to get parking, where my classes are located, and where the bookstore is. That’s all I need.” Feeling his anger start to seep into his words, he continued in a harsh, inpatient tone, “I don’t care about clubs, I don’t have time to think about getting involved in some volunteer project or go to a game or one of the million other things they are pushing as part of their Student Life programs and all the fun a well-rounded student has. I have all the fun I can handle right now.”

Hearing the frustration in the other man’s voice, he glanced up the stairs in the house, before saying in a low voice, “I hear you, I know what you’re saying, but I also think that’s why it’s so important you stay there. It’s important that you know what is available. Sam is fine, he’s annoyed but he’s fine and trust me, after I work him to death for the next six hours, he’ll be in a better mood and thrilled to see you.” He laughed, adding, “You’ll be rescuing him from me.”

Dean laughed, “Yeah.”

“Go, have lunch, hear about the fun stuff going on, try to keep an open mind, kid, and don’t worry about it. If I had been a bit slower to call you, you would have heard about his disappearing act tonight, not now, in this middle of your orientation.”

Feeling his blood run cold at the idea, he said quietly, “But you would have told me, right?”

“Of course,” he said firmly. “Go get lunch, I’m going to go drag Sam back to my place and put him to work. I think that fence is going to be fully painted today. I was hoping for just some of it when I was driving over here but I am now thinking the whole thing can be done.”

He laughed, “Go for it and if he doesn’t get it done today, he can do it tomorrow or Sunday. We were going to go hunting tomorrow but that is now firmly off the table.” Thinking for a moment, he added, “But I’ll deal with breaking that news to him tonight. No sense bringing more of his drama down on your head when you’re already having to deal with enough.” Hanging up a minute later, he closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath. He walked back to the cafeteria and smiled as Erik, the tour leader smiled and waved him over.

“Everything OK? We were hoping you weren’t about to bail on us!” he said in the same cheerful and upbeat voice he had used all day.

Dean nodded, “I’m good, just needed to make a phone call.”

“Great!” he said. “Why don’t you go get something to eat, we’ve got plenty of time. I’m just telling everyone about the fantastic student volunteer program we have! Pretty much any cause or social issue you’re interested in, there’s a club for. And, if there’s not, we have resources to help you start your own!”

Trying to match the other man’s enthusiasm, he smiled, “Great!”

Pulling into the parking area at Bobby’s, he smiled at the freshly painted fence edging the front and one side of the yard. 

At the edge of the work garage, Sam was rinsing out paint supplies and turned when he heard the Impala pull up. Frowning, he gave a small wave and turned back to his task.

Getting out of the car, Dean walked over and grabbed a towel from a nearby hook before handing it to his brother and shutting off the hose. “How’s it going, Sam?”

He shrugged, attention firmly on the paint roller he was tugging off. 

“The fence looks nice.”

Sam glared at him, “So now you want to talk to me? I tried to talk to you earlier and you just ignored me. What if I don’t want to talk now?” He frowned again, shaking his head, and finally tugged off the roller, throwing it in the general direction of the trash can and a small pile of newspapers.

Dean nodded, “Yes, I want to talk now. If you don’t want to talk to me, you don’t have to.” Remembering how John would yell and rant when he was mad, he deliberately lowered his own voice, saying evenly, “Just like I didn’t have to talk to you today when you got home. I was scared, I was upset, I was mad … and I was very relieved that you were home safely.”

He snorted, “Why wouldn’t I be OK? I just went to the library! And then I ran into George and Jason and they told me that Sarah …” Stopping, he shook his head, changing directions, “And Bobby was early and shouldn’t have panicked and told you! It’s not like I wasn’t coming home!”

Resisting the urge to shake his brother, he closed his eyes briefly before saying, “Seriously, Sam? You are asking me why I’d be worried when you disappear or why I’d worry that you weren’t OK? Do you honestly think I don’t worry every fucking day about something or someone wanting to kidnap or hurt you?” Hearing his voice getting louder, he swallowed, taking a deep breath and deliberately lowered his voice before pressing on, “I know you want to be normal and we are doing our best to make that happen. Hell, I was a nervous wreck the whole time you were at camp but I knew it was important to you, so I allowed you to go.”

Sam glanced at him, nodding slightly as he said, “Yeah, I know.”

“Do you really think that I, that both Bobby and I, only worry about creepy guys in vans or you falling off your bike and ending up in the emergency room?” Closing the distance between them, he tugged Sam closer and gently shook the younger man’s head. “Good god, Sammy … my nightmares about what could happen to you would give Stephen King nightmares.” Kissing him on the head, Dean gave up worry about the water or the paint and hugged him tightly. “You scared me, squirt. If I lost you too …” He shook his head again, unable to even contemplate how that sentence would be finished.

Hugging him back, he said, “I’m sorry. I really thought I’d be home before Bobby got there and just … because ...”

“And your phone?” he asked.

Sam shrugged, “I honestly just forgot it. I was charging it and just forgot it.”

Dean nodded, “We’ll talk about it when we get home.” Letting him go, he said, “Finish up out here and come into the house and we’ll leave.”

“Am I in trouble?” he asked quietly, glancing at his brother quickly.

He nodded, “Yes, but we’ll talk about it at home.”

Sam sighed, frowning as he picked up the hose. Glancing at Dean again, he asked quietly, “I guess we’re not going hunting tomorrow?”

“Right,” he confirmed in a firm voice. “Definitely not.”

“I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to scare you,” he said. 

Going back over, Dean hugged him again. “I know and I appreciate that. We’ll talk about it when we get home. Finish up here and let’s go.”

Sam nodded again, turning his attention back to his cleaning.

Walking toward the house, Dean smiled slightly when he saw Bobby standing quietly on the porch watching them. “Hey,” he said, climbing the two steps and smiling. “Fence looks good.”

He nodded, “Yep and it was a good project for him. He could sit out there and stew and bitch all he wanted and I didn’t have to listen to him. I think all that anger and frustration made him work quickly.”

Dean smiled, “We talked. He’s sorry, now.”

“Yep, I went out around 3:30 and made him sit in the shade with me on the porch and we talked and had lemonade and cookies. He seemed pretty much over it then, too, and apologized for worrying me. I think he just lost track of time, mostly. I got the impression some girl was involved but didn’t get the whole story.” Heading back into the house, he said, “You taking off when he’s done cleaning up or do you want to stay for dinner?”

Stopping himself from sighing and taking the easy route, he shook his head, “Thanks but we’ll head home. I need to deal with him and not have it hanging over our heads any longer than it needs to be.” He laughed, adding, “And luckily, we always have a frozen pizza in the house. That will be fine.”

“He’s a good kid,” Bobby said, pulling out a chair at the table and sitting down. 

“He is,” Dean said confirming with a smile as he sat down. 

Studying the man in front of him, he asked, “Do you know how you’re going to handle this situation yet?”

Dean sighed before shaking his head. “No, not really.” Folding his arms, he rested them on the table in front of him before laying his head down, trying hard not to hate his life. “I know what Dad would have done. He believed in zero leniency when it came to us being what he considered stupid or worrying him and he would have been livid over this.” Glancing at the other man, he shrugged before closing his eyes again, “I just need to find a happy medium because I refuse to follow his model that closely.” Sitting up, he shifted slightly in his seat before swallowing, “I mean, he was fine and I know he loved us both … just … I can’t be that strict or harsh with Sam. I just can’t.” Looking at Bobby, he added, “It worked with Dad and it was fine, it’s not like he abused us or anything.”

“I know,” Bobby confirmed, sticking to his long standing policy to simply listen and let Dean talk.

Glancing out the kitchen window in the direction of where his brother was, he said softly, “I’ll figure it out.”

“Yeah,” he said evenly. When the younger man didn’t continue, he said, “On a happier note, tell me about your tour.”

He snorted slightly, pulling his attention back to the conversation, and smiling. “It was fine. I got my parking permit and list of books I need for my classes but good god were they pushing the clubs and activities and sports. I swear, our tour guy must be getting some sort of commission on every new sign up for something.” Grinning, he added, “Like sign up 10 club memberships and get a set of steak knives.”

Bobby laughed, “What sounded good?”

Rolling his eyes, Dean ignored the question, saying, “I was thinking that I might run down there before school starts and pick up my books so I have those. One less thing to deal with, you know? Might be a fun day trip with Sam before we both get busy again. Plus, this way I can get a jump on reading, too.”

Deciding not to push, he nodded, “You boys could go check out the Spirit Mound near there. Reports of some little devil like creatures roaming around there for the last few centuries. Spriggans would be my best guess. Nasty things but as long as you’re smart, you’d be able to put it down without a problem. They’re a type of fairy, basically.”

“I promise to wear my iron bracelet,” Sam said quietly, easing into the kitchen. “If we go, I mean.”

Dean smiled at him, “We’ll see, Sammy.” Holding out his arm, he smiled as he pulled his brother in closer and gave him a quick hug. “All done cleaning up?”

He nodded, “Yeah, brushes are washed and drying and I threw away the roller after wrapping it up in newspaper, Bobby, like you told me. I washed the pans too and they’re drying upside down on the grass, not the gravel.”

Bobby nodded, “Good boy, thank you.” He smiled at him, “And the fence looks great, Sam. You did a good job on it.”

He smiled, “Thanks.” 

Standing up, Dean said, “OK, let’s get going then.” He smiled at Bobby, saying, “We’ll be in touch about this weekend and our schedule.” 

“Sounds good, no pressure.”

“Come on, Sam,” he said, bumping against his brother gently. “Got everything?”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, I didn’t bring anything with me. Bye, Bobby.”

Watching them walk down the parking area toward their car, he smiled as Dean pulled Sam into a quick side hug, ruffling his hair as he said something, causing Sam to smile slightly at him and shrug back. 

“Go upstairs, Sam, and I’ll be up in a minute,” he said as they came into the kitchen. Watching his brother walk up the stairs, he grabbed the cordless phone from the living room and carried it out onto the porch. Dialing quickly, he forced himself to smile as Kimberly’s mom answered. “Hi Mrs. Matthis, it’s Dean Winchester. I know Kimberly is at work but I’m hoping to leave her a message.”

Sitting crossed leg on his bed, Sam sighed as his brother walked into his bedroom. “I’m really sorry,” he said.

“I know,” he said, putting the paddle down on the bed and sitting down next to him. “But that doesn’t change the fact that what you did was dangerous and broke one of our key rules. You know the line, you do something dangerous, you get spanked.” Looking at him, he smiled slightly, “Anything to add?”

“No,” he said softly. “I just thought I’d get home before Bobby got here …”

Pulling his brother into a hug, he laughed softly, before kissing his hair, “That’s not helping your case, Sam.”

Sam smiled, leaning into the hug slightly, “Sorry.”

“Come on, up, jeans off and let’s get this over with. It’s been a long day for both of us.”

Standing up, he swallowed hard, “Can I … never mind.” Undoing his jeans quickly, he kicked them off and took a small step closer to Dean. Allowing himself to be pulled over his brother’s knees and the edge of the bed, he buried his face in his hands.

“Why are you getting spanked, Sam?” he asked, swatting his brother twice across the butt.

“For not leaving a note to tell you and Bobby where I was going,” he said quietly. “Even though I thought I’d be home before Bobby got here, you still need to know where I am, just in case.”

Dean nodded, “Exactly.” Not wanting to drag the situation out when it was clear his brother was fully aware of what he had done, he picked up the paddle and rested it gently on his brother’s butt for a moment before raising his hand and delivering 14 firm swats spread evenly across his butt and upper thighs. Not bothering to lecture, he concentrated on keeping his strokes evenly spaced and not too fast, allowing Sam to catch his breath as he cried. Like the last time he was forced to paddle him, it was over in less than a minute. “OK, all over,” he said, gently tossing the paddle onto the floor and helping Sam stand back up.

Quickly leaning in for a hug, Sam cried, “I’m sorry.”

“I know,” he said, moving over on the bed and pulling him down with him. “It’s OK.” Tugging the edge of the thin blanket up over them, he kissed his brother’s head and said, “You’re OK.”

Curling up slightly, he cried against Dean’s chest for several long minutes. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again as his tears tapered off. 

“I believe you, Sammy,” he said. “I didn’t paddle you because I didn’t think you were sorry. I paddled you because I want you to take that rule seriously, because breaking it is really serious. I have to be able to trust you when you’re home alone and what you did was dangerous.”

He sighed, “Yeah.”

“That’s why you’re also grounded this week,” he continued. “I’ll find plenty for you to do around here or Bobby’s and tomorrow morning, you’re getting up and coming to work with me. You can bring your book and sit behind Glenn’s booth, back where we store stuff.”

“Dean … no, please! I promise …”

“Drop it, Sam,” he said firmly. “You broke the rules and these are the consequences.” Hugging him, he added, “I won’t tell Glenn you’re in trouble, if that’s what you’re afraid of. I’ll just tell him you’re keeping me company; he won’t care and always likes to see you.” Privately, he was sure the other man would see through the white lie and figure the younger boy was in trouble but also knew that he’d have enough common sense and compassion to let it slide without comment. 

Sam sighed again, resting his hand against his brother and nodded. “OK.”

Smiling slightly, he bit his tongue to resist pointing out that he wasn’t asking for permission or for his brother’s agreement. Hugging him again, he kissed him gently. “It’ll be fine, Sam. I promise.”

OOooOOooOOoo

“So early,” Sam moan softly, sliding into the car the next morning.

“So don’t care,” Dean replied, glancing over at his brother with a quick smile. “Got your book?”

He nodded, holding up his book, “Yeah.”

“Good,” he confirmed, glancing behind him as he backed out of the garage. Pulling onto their street and heading toward the Farmers’ Market, he said, “If you play your cards right, I’ll let you go get some Crazy Corn before we leave.”

Sam smiled, “Cool! Thanks!” Leaning over, he bumped against his brother slightly and said in a quiet voice, “I’ll be good, I promise. You can trust me.”

“I know, squirt. I appreciate it,” he said honestly, glancing over and smiling at him.

“Is that the Chili’s Girl?” Sam asked, leaning forward as they pulled into the almost deserted parking lot 10 minutes later. He blushed slightly, asking, “Do you want me to hide? Like duck down in the seat so she doesn’t see me?”

“What? No, of course not,” Dean said, laughing, surprised to see Kimberly waiting at her car with her normal doughnut bag and three cups instead of two. “And her name is Kimberly, as you know. Don’t call her the Chili’s Girl to her face, please.”

Rolling his eyes, Sam huffed, “Of course not. But what’s she doing here?” Glancing over, he said, “Did you tell her I was coming?”

“Yeah, sort of,” he confirmed. “I left a message for her and told her you were coming to give me and Glenn a hand and not to worry about bringing our normal doughnuts and coffee. I guess she decided to ignore me.” Parking, he forced himself to smile at her, unsure how he honestly felt about her showing up and unable to shake the feeling she had crossed some invisible line into his private life.

“Morning,” she called out, smiling from her seat on her trunk as they got out of the car. Holding out the bag, she said, “I know you said not to bother but I figured Sam wouldn’t mind a bit of fried sugar since you’re putting him to work this morning.”

Glancing over at him, Sam asked quietly, “Is that OK? Can I have a doughnut?”

“Of course,” he confirmed, smiling at her as they walked over. Kissing her quickly but chastely on the lips, he grinned, “You shouldn’t have, but I’m glad you did.”

She grinned back, kicking him lightly, “It’s the perfect way to start off my Saturday.” Turning her attention to Sam, she smiled at him, “And so nice to see you again, Sam! I hear so much about you from your brother I feel like I’ve known you for months, too!” Holding out a paper cup, she said, “I figured hot chocolate might be more your speed then coffee.”

Sam blushed slightly, taking the cup, “Hi. Thank you. I like coffee, too.” Seeing the look Dean shot him, he quickly added, “But I like hot chocolate better, thank you.” Eyeing the bag, he grinned as she held it out.

“Since this is an especially early morning for you, you should get first pick,” she said.

“Thanks!” he said selecting a blueberry one. 

Leaning against her car, Dean smiled, quickly kissing her again before picking up his own coffee. “Thanks,” he said softly. “How was your night? Busy?”

She nodded, “Yeah, slammed but good money so it’s worth it. How was your tour? All set?”

“Yeah, got my parking pass and figured out where all my classes are and whatnot. Should be easy,” he said with a shrug.

Kimberly smiled before turning her attention back to Sam, saying, “Dean was telling me about the books you’re having to read for school. I love reading, English was my favorite subject. How did you like Dracula? Did it scare you? It scared me!”

Trying not to laugh at the idea of his brother being scared by a book, he sipped his coffee and quietly ate the jelly doughnut he had selected as he watched them talk. 

“It was good,” Sam said smiling. “I wasn’t really scared though. Dean and I watched the movie though and that was a little creepy but not scary, just sort of weird.”

Between them, she asked, “The one with Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder? I thought that was rated R, with the sex and violence?”

“It was fine,” Dean said quickly. “Plus, it’s basically for school.”

Sam nodded, interrupting him, “Yeah! Have you seen it?”

Kimberly nodded, “Yep and it was good but a bit too bloody for me.” 

He shrugged, “It’s all fake blood. The rats and roaches were worse because those were real! Like when they were crawling on Renfield in the mental institution? And then he was eating them!”

“Sam …” Dean said softly, shaking his head, seeing Kimberly blanche. “New topic, please.”

Glancing at Dean, she laughed, asking, “Are we still going to the movies on Wednesday?” She smiled at Sam, adding, “Hopefully nothing with roaches!”

Inwardly grimacing at the idea of juggling Sam’s grounding and her demands, he smiled, “Hopefully, yeah. Our uncle needs some help around the house so I might get stuck there but I can confirm tomorrow. Our camping trip got cancelled, so we’re home this weekend.” Ignore Sam’s sigh, he smiled at her, “What time do you go into work tomorrow?”

“Not until 4:00, so just call me any time.” Turning to Sam, she said, “Would you like me to see if my sister Katie would like to meet you to go to the movies? She’s going into 9th Grade, too, and you seem like you’d have a lot in common.” Smiling, she added, “We could all go and then maybe dinner or dinner first? Katie loves to read and I bet you guys would have fun together and you wouldn’t have to sit with us, of course.”

He blushed and shrugged, “Yeah, I guess. I was hoping to go see Spawn with some friends so maybe …”

“Spawn?” Kimberly asked warily, glancing at Dean.

“We need to get going,” Dean said with a smile, standing up from where he had been leaning on the car. “Let me check with Bobby and can I call you tomorrow?” When she nodded, he kissed her quickly and whispered, “Don’t worry, your sister isn’t going to have to go see Spawn. It’s a comic book movie and looks horrible.”

She grinned, kissing him back. “I look forward to talking tomorrow.” 

“Thanks for the doughnut,” Sam said with a smile.

Hoping off the trunk of her car, she pulled him into a quick hug, “You’re so welcome, Sam! It was nice seeing you again and I think you and Katie would have a lot of fun together. I hope the movies work out this week.”

He nodded, remembering his manners, “Yeah, me too. I’d like to meet her.”

“Let’s go, Sam,” he said, motioning for his brother. “We can’t keep Glenn waiting.”

“Bye,” Sam said, smiling again at Kimberly.

Bumping against him gently as they neared the vendor stalls, Dean smiled at him, “Good job, Sam. Nice and polite, thank you.”

He grinned before wrinkling his nose, asking, “Do I really have to go out with her sister?”

Dean laughed, “No, not if you don’t want to and not this week for sure because …” His voice trailed off, looking at his brother expectantly.

“Because I’m grounded.” Sam filled in with a sigh. 

“Right,” he confirmed, smiling and bumping against him. Ruffling his brother’s hair, he said, “So smart, Sammy.”

Jerking away, he laughed, “Stop it, Dean!”

He laughed, pulling him closer and giving him a quick hug. “Love you, squirt.”

Sam giggled, “But I’m still grounded, right?”

“Damn straight you are.”

OOooOOooOOoo

Flopping down on the sofa with a sigh, Sam leaned into Dean.

“Done with the car?” he asked, pulling his brother closer as he closed the book he was reading. 

He nodded, “Yep.”

“And you cleaned up everything, rolled up the hose?”

Sam nodded, “Yes and rinsed the bucket and the sponge and the dusting rags and washed the rag I used to wax with hot water and soap and it’s on the back porch railing drying. The car wash and wax are put back on the shelf in the garage and the vacuum is back in the corner and I wrapped up the cord so we don’t step on it.”

Dean laughed, hugging him, “Perfect, thank you.” Glancing at the clock, he said, “It’s only 3:00, still plenty of daylight left … what else needs to be done … windows or floors next … ”

Groaning, Sam pulled away and flopped back on the couch, hand to his forehead, mouth open, tongue hanging out for a second before glancing up to gauge the reaction of his dramatic death.

He laughed, leaning over and tickling his brother. “What’s wrong, Sammy? It’s only Tuesday! Have I worked you to death already?”

Curling up, giggling, he laughed, “Yes! You have! I’ve been working like a dog all week!” Trying to protect himself, he curled up on his side, “Stop it, Dean! Torture! Being grounded is bad enough, you don’t have to torture me too!” Laughing, he tried to roll off the sofa but was caught by his brother and hauled back up. 

“Tortured, huh? Worked to death? Is that what you said, Sammy boy?” he asked, holding him tight before ruffling his hair. “I don’t know about that …”

He laughed, relaxing against his brother and giggled again, “I do and yes, worked to death!”

Quickly kissing Sam’s head, he laughed and gave him a quick hug. “OK, maybe I agree and maybe you deserve a small treat for all your hard work and lack of bitching the last few days.”

Sam grinned, “Yeah.”

“Want to make a run to Family Farms for ice cream?” he asked, smiling.

“Yes! Thank you! Can I get a sundae?”

“We’ll see,” he said, standing up and pulling Sam up a second later. “Go change your shirt at least, that one is wet and filthy and we’ll run out.”

Closing his eyes happily as he took a big bite of ice cream, Sam sighed. “So good, thank you!”

Dean laughed taking a bite of his own sundae. “You look like you’d enjoy some private time with that thing, Sammy.”

“Dean!” he gasped, laughing and blushing as he looked around the large outdoor patio. 

He laughed again before changing the subject, asking, “How do you like your book?”

Taking another bite, he nodded before saying, “You’re right, it’s really good. It’s kind of sad, too though because you know a lot of the people you’re reading about are going to die.” Lowering his voice, he asked, “The part about the bodies still being up there and people seeing them … that’s kind of gross. Do you think their ghosts are still there?”

Dean shrugged, “No idea. Not burying someone doesn’t make them a ghost and since they decided to climb, maybe they are happy to still be there? Or at least for their bodies to be there? They may have gone happily with their reaper.”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “I wonder if reapers just maybe hang out there? Or at least hang out there when it’s climbing season, just waiting? I read this book in Bobby’s library and it showed a drawing of a whole group of reapers hovering over a city during the Black Death or something like that. Maybe Everest is like that?”

Taking a bite of his sundae, he smiled slightly, “I think I need to pay more attention to what you read at Bobby’s.”

Sam laughed, giving a small shrug. “It’s interesting.” Grinning, he added, “And it was in ancient Latin so it’s basically educational.”

Dean laughed, “Yeah, OK but let’s change the subject. Since you’re heading to Bobby’s tomorrow to …”

“Do more slave labor,” Sam said, making a face.

“To help finish painting and some other chores,” he continued, kicking his brother lightly under the table. “I thought we could make something for you to bring over there and enjoy. You know he’s a sucker for desserts.”

“Brownies,” he said quickly. “With cream cheese, maybe, too. I liked those ones where it was swirled in and not just on top. Those were really good!”

Sticking his spoon into his brother’s sundae and pulling out a bit of ice cream covered brownie, he grinned, “Brownies are good.”

“Hey!” Sam protested, laughing, jerking his bowl away and sticking his spoon into Dean’s dish, pulling out a bit of the mint chocolate ice cream. “Better than just ice cream and toppings, at least!”

Dean laughed “Whatever dude, we’re at an ice cream place … for ice cream … not a brownie place.” Taking another bite of his desert, he winked at his brother. “They’re all good.”

He grinned, “Yeah. Thanks again bringing me.” Swallowing slightly, he looked around at the crowd and the families eating ice cream, before saying in a lower voice, “I think Dad would have liked it, too. It’s crappy we never came here with him.”

Trying hard not to think of all the things they never did with John, Dean forced himself to smile. “Yeah, he would have loved it. What flavor do you think he would have liked best? Maybe Coffee Brownie Fudge? He loved coffee …”

Sam smiled, “Yeah or maybe something like the Raspberry Cheesecake because he’d order something like that from IHOP all the time. Remember those crêpe pancake things? He’d use the red syrup from the table and it was like red goo.” He laughed, making a face. “Regular syrup is much better.”

“Boysenberry,” Dean said, nodding. “And lingonberry, too. IHOP has the best sausage.” Taking another bit of ice cream, he said, “Do you remember probably four or five years ago, we were in some town in California and our neighbor made sausages? All different types and sold them?”

“Yes! Dad got rid of a poltergeist in his barn and afterwards, we ate free sausage for like the whole month we were there,” Sam said with a grin. “Those were good sausages. I wonder if we could find them again?”

He shrugged, “I don’t know but maybe.” Nodding toward his brother’s almost empty bowl, he said, “Done? We’ll get out of here, hit the grocery store …”

“For cream cheese and brownie stuff,” Sam said.

“Right and then back home so you can finish your book and do your book report this week. I want it done before you’re released from house arrest next week.”

Scrapping his bowl clean, he sighed, “Yeah but at least this one was good. It’s better than Death on the Nile and that was a ton better than the other two.” Following Dean toward the car, he took both bowls and threw them away before getting in. 

“I thought you liked them?” he asked, glancing over as he started the car.

Sam shrugged, “They were OK but this is better. Can we go hunting next week then?”

“Maybe,” he said. “We need to look at the calendar, you have orientation at school coming up next week but I don’t remember what day it is.” He frowned, trying to picture the calendar on the fridge with stuff written on it. “Bobby and I are attending parent orientation that night …” he said quietly, thinking. “I think it’s on Tuesday …” Pushing down the familiar rush of panic at the looming school year after a relaxing summer, he took a deep breath and tried to also block out the rush of fear that he was going to miss something important.

Sam huffed next to him. “That’s stupid. Who needs orientation for school?”

He laughed, reaching over and bumping his brother with his fist. “I’ll tell you something, as long as you promise not to tell Bobby. OK?”

Sam grinned, “What?”

“It is stupid,” Dean agreed and then laughed as Sam laughed with him. “It’s high school, it’s not … climbing Mt. Everest. As long as you have a map and your schedule, you can figure it out. And really, as much as I love you, squirt …”

“Awww,” Sam said, putting his hand to his heart and swooning as he giggled, falling back against the seat.

“The idea of sitting around classrooms I was literally in last year and hearing about how the school I was in last year works, seems like a waste of time.”

He nodded, “Yeah. Can you tell Bobby that and we can both skip it?”

Dean laughed as they pulled into the Hy-Vee parking lot. “Hell no,” he said firmly, shaking his head. “Bobby is all about respecting authority when it comes to school and not making waves … which is probably the right way to look at it, for sure.”

Sam huffed, “Yeah.” Glancing over, he grinned, adding, “But you’re still right.”

He laughed, “For sure. Come on, grocery shopping and then book report.”

OOooOOooOOoo

“I’m sorry that Sam couldn’t get free,” Kimberly said, dipping a fry into the ketchup on her plate the next day. “We’ll have to set him and Katie up another time for sure. They’d be so cute together, I think.”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, he was disappointed too. But Bobby is really trying to get these house projects done and with school starting in a few weeks, I was just happy I could break away.” Smiling at her, he said, “We’re not going to have too many more free weeks. The summer is almost over and then it’s back to real life, schedule, school and you’ll be over an hour away at school. When do you move into your dorm?”

She grinned, ignoring his questions, “We need to make them count.”

He nodded, “Yeah. When do your classes start?”

“August 25th,” she said with a shrug. “Probably the same week you start, I know Katie and Rye start that week, too. Dorms open the week before but I probably won’t move in until Saturday.” Grinning, she said, “I can’t wait for you to see my dorm room. I talked to my roommate and she has a boyfriend too, so maybe we can work out some sort of … system.”

Forcing himself to smile, he said, “Can’t wait to see your room and I hope your roommate is nice.” He knew what she wanted from him and was happy to accommodate, getting in a bit of last minute summer fun, as he said, “But right now, we still have two and a half weeks left of freedom …” Dropping his voice slightly, he asked, “What are we going to do?”

“Sam is at Bobby’s house, right?” When he nodded, she smiled and gave a small fake yawn. “Gee, I’m sorry, I’m suddenly tired. I’m not sure I’m up to going to the movies. Do you think we can go back to your place for a quick nap or … something?”

He grinned, ignoring the warning voice in his head that he shouldn’t lead her on, saying, “Let me just get the check.”

Resting her head on his bare chest two hours later, her hand slowly circling one of his nipples, she whispered, “I know I shouldn’t say this …”

“What?” he asked, stroking her hair.

“You’re supposed to say it first,” she whispered.

“What?” he asked again, glancing down at her. Moving down slightly, he kissed her, letting his hand move down her bare back. “You’re so pretty and feel so good,” he said. Laughing he kissed her again, “Is that what you want to tell me? That I’m so pretty?”

She giggled, rolling over and arching up on her elbows so she could look at him. “No …”

He grinned, shrugging, “Then I got nothing. You’re pretty, wonderful, special, smart, talented … and not just in bed …”

“Dean!” she said quickly, blushing and shaking her head. 

Laughing, he kissed her again, “Just telling the truth. I’m not sure what else to say.”

“That you love me,” she said with a slow grin. “Because I love you.”

Years of training from John had taught him how to lie, how to maintain a wonderful poker face when it was important, and how to always hide his true feelings and fears. That training had served him well with everyone from landlords wondering about the rent, to teachers wondering about where his father was, and to those in the bars he had hustled last winter when the money had run out two weeks before John had reappeared, having been delayed by a job. He had learned early and quickly to always smile, never appear shaken, and always have the confidence to look the person straight in the eye and deflect. It was this training that made him smile and kiss her again softly as he whispered, “You’re right, that’s exactly what I wanted to say. I just didn’t want to scare you by saying it.”

OOooOOooOOoo

“Hey Bobby!” Sam called as the older man’s truck pulled into the driveway Saturday morning.

“Morning,” he said, getting out and walking over to where the younger boy was kneeling by one of the front beds. Nodding in approval at the neatly weeded flower beds, he said, “Looking good, Sam.”

He grinned, “Thanks. Dean got me up when he left and made me get to work weeding and edging and sweeping!” Standing up, he added with another smile, “He said he wouldn’t feed me unless all the beds, front and back, were done and you approved them.”

Bobby laughed, “Sounds about right to me. No work, no food.”

He laughed again, rolling his eyes. “I’m almost done and then you can inspect them.”

“Get back to work, then,” he said, smiling as he sat down on the top porch step. “I’ll sit out here and supervise.”

Kneeling back down, he glanced up after a minute and said with a smile, “You know, Dean usually helps me …”

Bobby looked at him, “That’s nice.”

Sam smiled at him, waiting.

He laughed, shaking his head, “Wait all you want, kid. I’m not your brother and I don’t get sucked in by those puppy dog eyes.”

Giving up, Sam laughed, “Fine, I appreciate you keeping me company at least.” Pulling a handful of weeds that were intertwined with some of the flowers, he asked after a minute, “We’re going hunting next weekend. Did Dean tell you? That black dog, we think, that you and I were researching up near Pipestone and the park there, remember?”

He nodded, “That’ll be fun. How do you kill a black dog?”

“Huh,” he said, glancing up and shrugging. “Can you kill it? Dean said we could contain it and make it vanish by spraying it with holy water mixed with goofer dust and sulfur. Did you know that goofer dust has graveyard dirt in it? I thought we could just go dig it up, like from over in Mt. Pleasant but he said that wouldn’t work.”

Shaking his head, Bobby said, “No, for multiple reasons and you really shouldn’t go just digging in a cemetery.”

Rolling his eyes, Sam snorted and said, “Yeah, no kidding.”

“Excuse me?” he said, eyeing him. 

“Sorry,” he said quickly. “I mean, I wasn’t going to just go digging in the cemetery. I thought I could get dirt from one of the flower beds. Like ride my bike down one Sunday morning when it’s quiet. The grounds people don’t care if you ride bikes there. We go through there sometimes because there’s some cool stone steps that are great for jumping because they are at the top of this hill and you can really …” Stopping, he grinned, “You don’t have to tell Dean that.”

Bobby laughed, “Good idea, let’s keep your bike jumping stories between us. Your brother has enough to worry about without adding you breaking your neck to his list.”

Sam smiled, “Yeah.”

“But regardless if you dig in the cemetery itself or the flower beds, there are rituals you need to perform and calling the spirits and whatnot.” He shook his head, “It’s over my head and I just buy it from someone who knows what they’re doing. And yes, spraying the black dog with goofer dust should kill it or at least make it vanish. I’ve never heard of one coming back after a hunter did that.”

“Cool,” he confirmed, moving on to the last bed and eyeing the last few weeds deep in the flowers as he decided how to tackle it. 

Watching him for a moment, he said, “Make sure you wear that iron bracelet I got you, too.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I will. I always pay attention to stuff like that. I’m careful.” 

Watching him weed for another long minute, Bobby sighed and said, “Good, I appreciate it. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to help you weed.”

Laughing loudly, he grinned, “I know! Plus, I’m done, anyway!” Standing up, he slowly eyed the beds in front and at the mailbox before walking to the side and studying those for a minute. “Yep, totally done!” he called out again.

“Good!” Bobby said, standing up and meeting Sam halfway in the yard. “Looks good, kid. Very good.”

Bumping against him, he asked, “Good enough for food? Not just bread and water?”

Bobby laughed, pulling him into a side hug and ruffling his hair, “Definitely, maybe even an appetizer if we get there early enough before your brother arrives.” Giving him another quick hug, he said, “Go shower and change and we’ll get out of here.”

Sliding into the booth at Slates an hour later, Dean eyed the plate of onion rings the waitress had delivered a minute earlier. He bumped again Sam, asking, “Does this mean all the weeding is done?”

“Of course!” he said with a grin, bumping his brother back. “And the edging and the sweeping and Bobby agreed.” Looking across the table, he said, “Right? I was hard at work and not slacking off or screwing around all morning.”

Bobby nodded, “Yep and the house looks good.”

Dean smiled, “Good job, Sammy. Thank you.”

“Does that mean I’m off house arrest?” he asked, glancing over and smiling slightly. 

“Let’s call it a provisional release and probation,” Dean said. “Not totally free and clear but you’re getting there for sure.” Picking up an onion ring, he nodded, “Good choice.”

Sam smiled, “Cool, because I was kind of hoping that I could go to the pool on Monday? Jason said that they’re going and Sarah has sort of been asking about me.”

Dean chuckled, shaking his head, “So now it’s Sarah, huh? What happened to Emma?”

“Dean …” he said, blushing slightly.

Bobby laughed, taking a sip of his coke. “You are too young to be pinned down, anyway, Sam. I fully support having fun and playing the field.”

Blushing deeper, Sam squirmed before saying, “It’s not like that.”

Dean laughed, bumping against him again. “We’re just teasing you, squirt. Monday and the pool are fine. We’ll talk about the ground rules when we get home, OK? And, of course, it’s dependent on your final book report being done.”

“It’ll totally be done by then,” he confirmed, nodding.

“How was work today?” Bobby asked a few minutes later after they placed their orders.

Dean nodded, “It was good. Glenn had several … special customers again and I think he’s right, that part of the business or at least the little I see, is picking up.” 

“What did they get?” Sam asked. “More throwing stars like the lady going to Alaska?”

He shook his head, “No, nothing that interesting. Just some normal blades mostly and someone was picking up a new batch of bronze arrow heads. Maybe he’s going after a siren?”

Bobby nodded, “Could be or could just be restocking with nothing specific in mind.”

“Hey, do you know an Irv Franklin?” he asked, eating another onion ring. “He was picking up a cool blade that Glenn had sharpened. He said he was doing a quick hunt tomorrow, a couple of hours away.”

“Yeah, I do actually,” he said, nodding again. “Good guy, good hunter, very smart and methodical. Your father and I have actually worked on several jobs over the years with him. I should give him a call.”

“He asked me to go with him,” Dean said with a half shrug. “He said he could use an extra pair of hands.”

Next to him, Sam stared at him and shook his head. “Dean … ”

“Any idea what he’s hunting?” Bobby asked.

Dean shook his head, “No but the knife was silver.” Taking a sip of coke, he said, “Maybe a werewolf? Blade was certainly big enough to take off a head.”

“Could be,” he confirmed, nodding. “The full moon is coming up in about a week and Irv was great tracking those things down. You could certainly learn something from him if you ever decided …”

“Dean! No!” Sam said loudly, shaking his head again.

“No what, Sam?” he asked, glancing over. 

“You promised!”

“Promised what, Sam?” he asked, confused. 

Shaking his head, he said, “You promised you wouldn’t go hunting any more. You said you’d stop hunting; you promised.”

“Of course,” he said quickly. “I’m not going with him, it honestly never crossed my mind, Sam. I promised you and I meant it and I still mean it. No hunting with him or anyone.”

Sam swallowed, nodding. “OK,” he said quietly. “You just …” his voice trailed off and he shrugged. “I don’t want …” His voice trailed off again as he frowned, shaking his head.

“No need to explain, Sam. I was just talking to him or really, he was talking to me when I was manning the stall. I promise you, never crossed my mind to go with him.” Smiling, he said, “Plus, he’s going on Sunday and that doesn’t work for me or our schedule. We go someplace fun for breakfast and maybe go do something cool and then I get to have the most fun ever …” He grinned, kicking his brother under the table as he asked, “Do you know what that is?”

Eyeing him, sensing a joke, he asked, “What?”

“Supervising you doing your book report! I got my red pen ready!” he said, grinning and then ducking slightly as Sam hit him.

“That’s not funny, Dean!”

He laughed, “It’s a little funny.” Pulling his brother into a quick hug, he said quietly, “But seriously Sam, no hunting with him or anyone else, promise. Bobby and I were just talking.”

Sam nodded and said quietly, “OK.”

“OK,” he confirmed, glancing at the older man with a quick smile.

Bobby nodded, “Exactly, just talking.” Seeing the waitress approaching, he said, “Good timing! I’m starving and I’m sure you both are too … considering you’re always starving.”

Eager to change the subject, he asked, “Bobby, you feel like going to the movies with me and Sam this afternoon? We’re going to go see the new Harrison Ford movie.”

Sam grinned, adding, “Dean and his girlfriend got too busy … talking at lunch the other day and didn’t go see it.” He laughed, eyeing his brother as he said made air quotes with his fingers, saying, “They were talking.”

Dean glared at him, “Please remember who is buying your ticket, coke, and popcorn, squirt, and decide how much of a smart ass you should be.”

“Hey! I have my own money!” Sam protested, bumping against him and grinning. “I have almost $200 saved up from Bobby and the Lowes.”

He laughed, reaching over and dragging his brother closer and ruffling his hair, “That’s because you barely spend anything and still get an allowance from me. If you’re so rich, maybe I should cut that off.”

“Bobby!” Sam cried, laughing and jerking away. “You wouldn’t let him do that, would you?”

He laughed, shaking his head, saying, “Movies sound good to me and to settle the argument, I’ll even buy.” Eating a fry, he grinned, “You two are a mess.”

Sam grinned, “Thanks!” Taking a bite of his burger, he said after a minute, “Speaking of allowances … since I’m in high school now, can I get an increase?”

“No,” Bobby said firmly, shaking his head. “Your dad gave me strict instructions on his timeline for that.”

Dean laughed, “That’s right, Sam. I was stuck at $10 until I turned 16 and I think that’s fair for you, too.” Turning his attention back to Bobby, he said, “You’ll like the movie, Harrison Ford is the president and is kidnapped by terrorist who take over Air Force One.”

“Sounds good,” he confirmed, smiling. 

OOooOOooOOoo

“Tell me what the deal is with your brother and hunting,” Bobby said, kicking Dean’s leg lightly as he peered down at the younger man changing the oil in the Impala. “Especially since we’re doing this now, on a Tuesday, instead of this weekend, since you boys are … leaving for a hunt on Saturday.”

Dean chuckled from under the car, “I know. Trust me, Bobby, you don’t have to tell me it’s weird.” Undoing the screw plug, he quickly jerked his hand away from the stream of oil before rolling out from under the car. Sitting up, he said, shrugging, “Sam sees hunting with me as … fun. It’s called hunting and he likes it but it's 100% a hobby and it’s directed by him or at least mostly directed by him, so I think he feels in control. He and I talk about it, he does the research, he’s got his journal, and we talk about the job we’re going to do and how it’s going to go down, all the details. He’s basically in control or at least feels that he and I are in control.”

He nodded, “I think control is important to him.”

Dean nodded, “Yeah, for sure. Control means … security, I think, and that’s what he needs. Even before Dad died, he needed to feel secure and that things were under control. I did my best but sometimes …” He shrugged again, “Sometimes it was harder than other times.”

Bobby nodded, “I’m sure but I also know you always did your best.”

Flashing him a quick smile, he shrugged again, dismissing the praise. “But hunting with Hunters, like capital H hunters, though, that’s a whole different beast and something he’s totally against. To him, that’s what got Dad killed, that’s what caused drama in our lives and he wants nothing to do with it.” Standing up, he added, “It’s dangerous and scary, and out of control.”

“Not the good ones,” Bobby protested, shaking his head. “Good hunters are always in control.”

“I know,” he said quickly. “I’m not saying I agree with him, really. I’m just saying how he sees it, through 14 year old eyes. And, let’s be honest, Bobby, just between me and you, a 14 year old that has been through a lot, done too much, and seen crap that would send some grown men to the nut house.” Pulling the new filter from its box, he handed it to the other man with a smile, adding, “So I’m OK humoring this quirk and I know the difference between hunting and … hunting. He and I have fun and that’s all I care about.”

Bobby laughed, “OK and sure, why not. You mentioned this a few months ago, before our trip to Cold Springs. I just didn’t realize it was still going on.”

He made a dismissive noise, “With Sam and his quirks and him just generally being weird, you can pretty much assume they are always still going on.” Grinning, he shrugged, “But it’s fine, I know how to deal with it. There’s almost nothing I don’t know about that kid and how his mind works.”

“Good point,” he said. “Next topic of conversation … ground rules for tonight’s parent teacher school orientation thing.”

Dean groaned, shaking his head, “Do we have to?”

Snapping the filter back in place, he grinned, asking, “Have to what? Talk about my expectations for your behavior or go? Because if it’s the second, then yes, as I’ve already told you when you and your brother both mentioned skipping it.”

He laughed, “It’s OK, I know what you expect from me.”

“Which is …?” he asked, glancing down as the younger man slid back under the car to screw the oil pan plug back in place.

“To smile, sit there, keep my mouth shut, and let you do the talking,” he said in a sing songy voice before laughing. “Hey!” he yelped as the older man lightly kicked him. “Why did you kick me? That was right, wasn’t it?”

He laughed, “Yeah but I didn’t appreciate the attitude or tone.”

Dean groaned, shaking his head under the car, “Never happy …”

“Watch for drips, idjit,” he said, cracking open one of the new oil quarts. “And your behavior, or I might start the car with you under it.” He grinned, shaking his head at his life as Dean laughed again. 

Washing his hands 30 minutes later, Dean said, “We’ll meet you at the school tonight or you want to come to the house and have dinner with us? I made a big pan of lasagna Sunday while Sam was finishing his book report.” 

“Real lasagna or with vegetables in it?” he asked, handing the other man a towel. “Millie made vegetable lasagna for me a few weeks ago when I went over there for dinner. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either.”

“Real lasagna,” he confirmed with a smile. “I figure the tomato sauce is enough of a vegetable. I’d occasionally do a salad but Sam just ignored it, so I mostly stopped bothering.” Glancing around the house, he said, “I noticed the house is gradually become cleaner, less clutter and stuff sitting around. Is that Millie’s influence?”

Bobby snorted, “No. We’re just friends, maybe with benefits, but just friends. With this life … I don’t know that this place would ever be clean enough to have her here. All I need is her opening the wrong door and my cover is blown and the police and or child protective services are probably called before she hits the main road.”

“Tell me about it,” he confirmed. “Sam had a sleep over the end of June and I took the basement key with me to my room, along with the gun I keep hidden in the back of one of the drawers and the silver kitchen knife. I figure as long as they didn’t move the carpets, we were safe with the protection seals.”

“Better safe than sorry and dinner tonight sounds great. Come over around 5:00? I think the whole thing starts at 6:30.”

He nodded, “Perfect. I’m out of here then, I’ve got to pick Sam and a couple of friends up at the pool. Ray’s mom is finally OK with him going to the pool alone, most of the time at least now.”

OOooOOooOOoo

Sitting up on the small beach by the private river front they had been enjoying all summer Kimberly smiled at him, “Is Sam gone this afternoon?”

He sighed, shaking his head, “No, sorry. He’s just hanging out with friends today and who knows what his schedule is like. I’m guessing your house isn’t free?”

“No, my mom is off today, so she’s either running errands or doing stuff around the house. Even if she’s gone, no telling when she’d get back.” Glancing at the water for a moment, she said, “Does Sam respect closed doors? Could you just tell him we’re going upstairs?”

“No,” he said firmly. “He’s too … young.” The excuse was weak, he knew, but he didn’t want to start that pattern with Sam. Closing his eyes, he tried to avoid wishing he was somewhere else. His never ending To Do list was running through his head and he was feeling the pressure with their trip coming up and school looming.

She made a face, flopping back down on her towel. “This summer is going by too quickly.”

Knowing what she wanted and eager to avoid drama in the last couple of weeks of their relationship, he forced himself to smile. “We could still have fun,” he said, sitting up and moving closer to her. Leaning down, he kissed her gently, letting his hand rest briefly on her bare stomach before moving up to cup one breast. “No one is around … just us.” Stroking one nipple through the thin material, he grinned, before sliding his hand to the center clasp and quickly undoing it, allowing the material to open. 

“Dean …” she whispered softly, squirming beneath his hand. 

“Hmmm…” he said, kissing her again as he stroked her breast before trailing light kisses down her neck and throat, teasing her collar bone slightly with his tongue before moving to her now bare breasts.

Arching up slightly to kiss him back, she moaned softly as her hands gripped his arm. “We’re in public …” she whispered.

“But there’s no one around,” he countered, kissing her breast before moving back up to her lips and kissing her again as his hand went back to her stomach and began to slowly stroke the skin there, dipping slowly lower with each pass until he was grazing the top of her bikini bottom. 

She sighed, squirming slightly away and shaking her head. “But still … if we were caught … my parents …”

Kissing her quickly again, he pulled back, hand now safely and chastely resting on her side. “OK,” he said with a smile as he kissed her again before sitting completely up and nodding. “I would never want you to do anything you weren’t comfortable with. You’re great and I want to respect you.” Smiling, he leaned over, picking up her hand and kissing it quickly before adding with a smile, “We have plenty of time.” Inwardly, he smiled at correctly judging her comfort level and knowing she would call it off before he was forced to go all the way with her.

Rehooking her top, she smiled, sitting up and moving slightly closer to him. “Thank you,” she whispered, kissing his shoulder. “You’re so good, how did I get so lucky?” Kissing him again, she rested her head on his shoulder with a sigh. “I love you,” she whispered.

He laughed, taking her hand and kissing it again, “I could say the same thing, sweetie.”

Giggling, she grinned, “Sweetie?”

Turning, he laughed and kissed her before saying, “Love bug? Honey pie? Buttercup?”

Kimberly laughed again, shaking her head, “I’ll take sweetie if those are my only other options … stud.”

He grinned, “Sounds good … sweetie and stud. We’re like a … 60s duo.”

“Summer loving had me a blast, Summer loving happened so fast,” she sang, looking at him expectantly. “Your line, stud.”

Shaking his head, he shrugged, “Sorry … no clue. Umm… summer loving is going to last?” he guessed, deliberately making it positive instead of the negative statement his mind immediately went to.

She laughed, “No! It’s from Grease, the movie? With John Travolta and Olivia Newton John?”

“Nope, never seen it,” he said. 

Leaning in, she kissed him and whispered, “I guess I get to teach you something then. You don’t always get to be the smartest guy in the room. Your line is “I met a girl crazy for me…”

“I met a girl crazy for me,” he repeated, forcing himself to sing it slightly and kissing her back.

“Met a boy cute as can be,” she confirmed with a smile. Sighing, she laid her head back on his shoulder, “Just promise me this isn’t just a summer fling, Dean.”

“Of course not,” he said firmly. 

OOooOOooOOoo

“Ready to go Sam?” Dean called, stepping into the kitchen Saturday afternoon. 

“Almost!” he yelled. “I’m putting away the sheets.”

He smiled, grabbing both duffle bags sitting on the floor and carrying them to the car. The bag of weapons was tucked into the hidden compartment in the truck and, for added camouflage, he threw in the two bagged collapsible lawn chairs next to their duffels. 

Carrying the cooler of drinks and snacks, Sam said, “Done. And I watered the flowers too, so that’s taken care of.”

“Good job,” he said, nodding. “Put that in the back seat while I go and change and we’ll get out of here.”

Sam smiled, “And get lunch. Where are we going?”

Dean shrugged, “No idea … think of some place and I’ll let you pick.” Walking upstairs, he quickly changed out of his logoed work t-shirt and into another t-shirt. A quick glance through the house confirmed everything was in its proper place, lights off, and doors locked. Sliding into the car, he said, “Good job with the house and chores, Sam. I appreciate it.”

He grinned, shrugging, “No biggie. You can count on me.”

Pulling out of the garage carefully and pressing the remote to close the door, he backed onto the street. “Where to for lunch?”

“Burger Barn?” Sam suggested. “They have shakes and have that cool picnic area we can eat at and they’re usually pretty quick.”

Dean nodded, “Excellent choice, as always.” Smiling, he realized how much he was looking forward to the weekend hunt with Sam, getting back on the road, away from the pressures of their day to day lives, and the familiar feeling of satisfaction of a job well done.

“You look happy,” he said, smiling.

He laughed, “Yep, I am. I love hunting with you, I love going someplace and figuring out a problem, and maybe helping people.”

Sam grinned, “Me too.”

“What’s your research say on this creature that may or may not be a black dog?” Dean asked, flopping down on the hotel bed after they checked in. The hotel was small but cleaner than most they had stayed in and conveniently located between the two parks they were going to be exploring. 

Pulling his journal from his bag, Sam sat down on his own bed and flipped through the pages. “It’s been reported on and off for the last four years, at least, according to Bobby. Seems to show up mostly in the summer months and at least three people who have seen it have died shortly after reporting it to the police.”

“Why are they reporting it?” Dean asked. “Is it hurting them?”

Sam shrugged, “I don’t know. They were fine, I think just scared. Bobby pulled up the police report for one of the people and the guy said he and his girlfriend were camping over by the lake at Split Rock and something attacked their tent. The pictures showed it totally shredded.”

“How did they survive?”

“They jumped in their canoe and paddled away from shore. He said they heard it sniffing around shore and making weird noises but didn’t get in the water,” Sam said. “But then, driving home like two days later, the guy who made the report died in his sleep in their hotel room. His girlfriend found him when she woke up the next morning.”

Dean nodded, “OK but that’s just one. What else?”

He smiled, moving over to his brother’s bed and handing him the journal, pointing to the handwritten notes and dates. “I got the first three names from Bobby and those are the people who filed reports about a dog or wolf or bear scaring them in the last four years and died within a few weeks or month. Then I did some additional work with obituaries on people around here who died even though they were young and eliminated anyone who died from something normal like a car crash or known cancer or something explained. That gave me five more names, if I go back a total of 10 years.”

“Impressive, Sam!” he said honestly. “Dad couldn’t have done better, good job.”

He grinned, “Thanks. It was fun. I did it at the library over the last few weeks.” Tapping the list of the three recent people, he said, “Two of these were at Split Rock and the other one was near the waterfalls at the Pipestone monument area. All of them seem to be at night.”

Glancing at the clock, he said, “Well, it’s only 4:00, what would you like to do?”

Sam smiled, “Let’s go see the quarry area. There’s no camping there so I don’t know if we can get there at night, you know? The lake might be our best bet and will be easier to check out later since there’s camping and boating and people come and go there. The guy who reported it at Pipestone was a park ranger, so he was allowed to be there at night. He was found dead at the bottom of one of the rock quarries like two weeks after filing his report.”

Nodding, Dean said, “Good plan. We’ll drive around, get familiar with the area, and then plan our attack.”

“I wonder if we can sneak into the Pipestone park after dark? Like maybe hike in or something? We should look for a way to do that because that’d be cool,” Sam said. “The creature might be around more there at night but since people usually aren’t around, no one sees it.”

Not wanting to immediately nix his brother’s idea and enthusiasm but not remotely considering something that might get them involved with the police, he shrugged slightly. “Maybe, but if it’s a black dog, isn’t that a death omen or a demon? What would it be doing around if there’s no one to see it as a warning or make a deal with?”

Thinking for a minute, Sam nodded, “Yeah, that makes sense unless it’s not a black dog. Maybe it’s something else? Maybe it’s a crocotta or leucrocotta …”

“Those are the same thing, Sam,” Dean said with a smile. “But yeah, it could be something else. Let’s go look around and maybe we’ll get some clues or see something that points us in the right direction.”

Sam huffed, making a face, “OK, well, how about a calydonian boar or a laelaps or maybe an adlet or a cu sith?”

Dean laughed, grabbing at his brother as he shook his head. “Now you’re just naming monsters, Sammy.” Ticking him, he said, “We’ve got to stick to the realm of possibility here.”

“Stop it!” he cried, laughing and trying to twist away. “It could be! Someone could have let a calydonian boar loose! You don’t know,” he protested, giggling and curling up to protest himself. “They wanted a supernatural bar-b-que!”

He laughed, kissing his brother quickly before letting him go, “A supernatural special bar-b-que, huh?”

Sam giggled, nodding again, “That’s right. A super special supernatural roasted pig but it got free and now Porky the Demon is running around.”

Dean shook his head, “Come on, grab your stuff and let’s go hunt Porky, or whatever it is, down.” 

“I don’t see any tracks or prints or anything like that, do you?” Sam asked as they finished walking the main trail and several side branches in the Pipestone area.

Dean shook his head, “No and EMF isn’t picking up anything.”

He sighed, kicking a loose rock and smiling slightly as it bounced into the near-by creek. “What do you think that means?”

“I think that means we should go check out Split Rock,” he said with a nod. Bumping his brother gently, he said, “If you want. It’s up to you, squirt.”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, we should and we’ll look for a place to stake out the area tonight. The reports have all been early evening, after dark but not like middle of the night.”

“Sounds good,” he agreed. “Did your research indicate day of the week or moon cycle?” Glancing at his brother, he added, “Full moon this weekend …”

Thinking for a moment as they made their way to the car, he shook his head before saying, “I don’t think so but after we check out Split Rock, I can double check my journal.”

“You didn’t bring it with you?” Dean asked as he opened the car door.

Sam shook his head, “I forgot it. I had it all pulled out and then put it down when I went to the bathroom and forgot to grab it.”

Trying hard not to sigh or overreact as their father would have done, he said simply, “If you are going to keep a journal and research, you should always make sure you have it. Research is just as important as weapons and supplies.”

Huffing slightly and making a face, he said, “I know, Dean! I just forgot.”

“And I’m just saying, Sam,” he countered, wincing as he heard his own tone react to his brother’s whine. “Let’s swing by the hotel and get it.”

Rolling his eyes, he kicked at the floorboard slightly before saying, “Fine but that’s stupid and out of the way. It’s not that big of a deal ...”

“There’s no point in doing something if you’re not going to do it right,” he said immediately, feeling his temper fray. Glancing at Sam, he added, “We either do it right or we don’t do it. This job is too important for half-ass efforts. You know that.”

“I know,” he said softly. “Sorry. I’ll remember next time.”

He nodded, “Good, thank you.” A few minutes later, as they pulled into the hotel parking lot, he gently ruffled his brother’s hair, “While you’re in the room, squirt, grab a bottle of water for me, please.”

Sam smiled, nodding. “OK, be right back.” Sliding into the car a minute later carrying his black and white journal and two bottles of water, he handed one over. 

“Thanks,” Dean said, taking the bottle as he bumped against the younger boy and smiled.

“If we’re going to do this, if I’m going to keep a journal, I should do it right,” he agreed with a nod.

Dean nodded, “Yep but we all make mistakes. The trick is just to correct it and try not to repeat them.”

Glancing over, he smiled, adding, “And sometimes correcting your mistakes mean you get bottles of water.”

He laughed, bumping Sam again, “Exactly right. Now, let’s go to the park and the lake and see what’s up. What’s your research say again about locations?”

Opening up the journal, he said, “The stone bridge and the camping area near there looks promising. Maybe we should have camped there instead of the hotel?”

“I hate camping,” he said, shaking his head. “If we have to, we have to, but if there’s a hotel near-by, give me a real bed and clean sheets any day.” Laughing, he said, “Plus, your snores are bad enough in a hotel room without sharing a 4x6 tent with you.”

Sam shook his head, “I don’t snore! You keep saying I do and I don’t!”

Glancing at him, Dean laughed. “OK, Sammy boy, keep telling yourself that.”

OOooOOooOOoo

Late Monday night, Sam shifted again on the large rock they were sitting on and yawned before sighing. “I think this is a bust,” he said quietly. “What time is it?”

Tilting his wrist to look at his watch, Dean said, “Just before midnight. Ready to call it and head in?”

He sighed again, “Let’s give it another 30 minutes. At least it’s pretty out. The stars are cool.”

Looking up, Dean nodded, “Yeah. It is.” He surveyed the lake area spread out in front of them, eyes scanning the shadows, looking for movement. The full moon had come up a couple of hours earlier and the light cloud cover did little to diminish the bright light. “If it’s really a Black Dog then it’s a good thing we’re not seeing it,” he said quietly. They had deliberately picked this spot after trying different ones Saturday and Sunday evenings. This spot was on a higher rock outcropping and gave them a good vantage point of the whole lake shore.

“Yeah,” Sam said, shifting and leaning into his brother, who was perched slightly higher on the rock. “Did Dad ever have hunts that were total busts?” he asked quietly.

“Sure, of course,” he said quickly, shifting slightly and pulling Sam in closer. “I think all hunters do. Let’s see … I bet Dad probably only got something once every 10 or so days he’d go out. Why do you think jobs take so long?”

Sam laughed softly, “Yeah, days and weeks.”

“Exactly and even if you’re hunting something that has a set schedule, like a werewolf, you can’t just show up on a Sunday night during a full moon and expect to immediately find what you’re looking for.” 

He nodded, sighing softly, “I guess and I bet stuff like werewolves don’t always show up where you exactly want them. Even if they’re around, they might be two miles away from you and you’d never know.”

“Right,” Dean confirmed. Bumping against him, he said, “Even if we don’t find something, it’s been a fun trip. We had fun canoeing and swimming yesterday and then you got some good driving experience in. The road we were on this morning, with the hills and the turns was perfect and you handled it like a pro.” Keeping to how their father had taught him years earlier, he had driven them both to an empty track of land that was crisscrossed with old farm roads and turned the keys over to Sam. They had spent over an hour with the younger boy getting more and more comfortable behind the wheel and at more normal driving speeds.

He laughed, nodding, “I did good! Drivers Ed next year is going to be a breeze.”

“Just remember,” Dean said, “this is our secret. Bobby knows but that’s it, right?”

Nodding, he said, “Right, our unique normal.” Falling silent for several long minutes, Sam said quietly, “I like hunting with you. I like going with Bobby, too, but it’s nice with just you and me.” He swallowed, adding, “It reminds me of going hunting with Dad and I can sort of pretend that he’s somewhere out there, like backing us up. Like we’re here and he’s in another spot, watching another area.” Twisting around to look at his brother, he said quietly, “I know he’s not but … it’s sort of nice to pretend for a few minutes … Is that stupid?”

“No, not at all,” he said quickly. “I know exactly what you mean and I like it too,” Bumping against him with his leg, he added, “You’re a great hunting buddy, Sam. I couldn’t ask for anyone better.”

He laughed, “Thanks. This was a good summer, wasn’t it?

“It was,” Dean confirmed, forcing his mind away from how good he thought last summer was and how much fun they had had at Bobby’s throughout July and August. Remembering how surprised and happy he was when John had announced they were staying in Sioux Falls through Christmas, he tried not to feel the familiar pang of grief and anger at their father’s true motives and the secret he was keeping. 

“It sucks that our last hunt this summer is a bust,” he said a minute later, sighing again.

“But we keep doing the research and are smart and we’ll be successful. Plus, Labor Day weekend is coming up, maybe we can go someplace then.” Ruffling his brother’s hair, he said, “Want to play 20 Questions?”

Glancing up, Sam grinned, “Yeah. You can go first this time.”

He laughed, “Thanks.”

OOooOOooOOoo

“Promise me that this wasn’t just some summer fling,” Kimberly whispered, her head resting on his bare chest early Thursday afternoon.

Kissing her gently, he smiled, “I thought older women were into taking advantage of younger guys … just using them for hot sex and a bit of fun and then moving on to the next one.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed, kissing him back. “So, you think this was hot sex?”

He laughed, allowing his hand to trail down her back and resting on her bare butt. Patting it, he said, “I think this was excellent sex.” Kissing her he added with a grin, “You certainly seemed to enjoy yourself judging by the noises you were making.”

“Dean!” she said, blushing and shaking her head. 

Laughing and kissing her again, he said, “What? You started it.”

She giggled and rolled away with a sigh, “Yeah and as much as I’d love to keep going, my last shift starts in like two hours.”

Allowing her to pull free, he rolled on his side and smiled as she tried to grab her panties to pull them on and avoid standing up completely naked in front of him. “You could always shower here,” he offered as she stood up and grabbed her shirt. He knew she’d love the suggestion and idea but also would never take him up on it. “One last first for the summer … standing up … in the shower, water coming down …”

“Dean!” she said, blushing again and shaking her head even as she grinned. Shirt now on, she bent down and kissed him, “You are so bad.”

Grinning, he tugged her down onto the bed on top of him, “Good thing you like bad.” Kissing her deeply, he slid a hand up her shirt and caressed a bare breast. “Personally, I like sweet and that’s what you are … sweet and wonderful and smart and so, so pretty.”

Sighing, she kissed him back for a long moment before reluctantly pulling away and slipping on her shorts, “I’ve got to go but I’ll see you Saturday morning?”

Allowing her to pull free, he sat up, the sheet pooling in his lap. “Yep. One last chance to see if I can finally convince you that we could totally pull off a quickie in the parking lot.” He glanced at the box of condoms on the nightstand, “Four left in the box …”

She laughed again, “Horrible! Horrible boy!” Shaking her head, she grinned, “See you Saturday. Love you!”

He grinned, flopping back on the bed dramatically, “Go, before I decide that you really don’t need to work that last shift and should stay here with me instead. Sam won’t be home for almost two hours; one of his friends is having an end of summer party at some bowling alley and that’s not over until 4:00 and the idea of an empty house is very tempting. I’m just going to lay here and think about you.”

Rolling her eyes, she grinned before heading out of the bedroom.

Listening to her hurry down the steps and the sound of the front door opening and closing, he quickly got out of bed and stripped the sheets. Rolling them into a ball, he padded into the bathroom and turned on the water to shower. Trying hard not to think of her, her expectations, and his own lies, he picked up the soap and began to wash.

OOooOOooOOoo

“Hi Bobby! We’re here!” Sam called, coming in through the porch door into the kitchen Saturday evening.

Coming in from the library, he smiled, “I heard you. How are you? Ready for school on Monday?” Pulling him into a quick hug, he laughed at Sam’s expression, “I’ll take that as your answer.”

He nodded, “Yeah, for sure. I’m not ready for summer to be over.”

“I bet! You’ve had fun,” he said. 

Sam nodded again, “Yeah.” Holding up the cake carrier, he said, “And we made cake this afternoon. Carrot cake made with some of the carrot that we grew. It’s got pecans but no raisins.”

“Very impressive,” Bobby confirmed. “Are those the last of the carrots?”

He nodded again, “Yeah, pretty much but they were great.”

“All the vegetables turned out great,” Dean said, coming in carrying their duffle bag. “Hey Bobby, how are you?”

“Good,” he said. “How was work this morning?”

He nodded, “Good, didn’t lob off a finger so I count it as a successful day.”

Sam giggled, rolling his eyes.

“Sam, I pulled out a couple of books for you that have the same verse written in Latin on one page and the Greek on the opposite page, if you’re interested.” Nodding in the direction of his library, he added, “It’s good practice for old Latin and you should work on yours. Being more familiar with Greek is good, too.”

“Cool, thanks!” he said. “Latin is my easy class this year for sure and hopefully I have a better teacher then stupid Mr. Baxter from last year.” Making a face, he said, “Did you know that Dean tried to talk me into taking something else?”

“Bobby can teach you all the Latin you need,” Dean countered, shaking his head. “It’s a waste of time for you. Hell, I suck at it and even I breezed through Latin in High School and you’re much better than me.”

Sam shrugged, “I deserve an easy class. Plus, I’m already signed up for it and I can’t change now without screwing everything up.”

Holding up his hand, he shook his head, “Fine, Sammy.” Turning to Bobby, he said, “Want some help with dinner while Sam geeks out over the Greek?” Passing over the duffle bag, he said, “But first, take this upstairs please.”

He sighed, taking the bag and lugging it up the stairs.

Dean grinned at the dramatics before turning to the kitchen. “What can I help with?”

Bobby smiled and nodded toward several onions, “Peel and slice, please. I’ll get the meat mixed up.”

Giving a sharp salute, he said, “Aye aye Captain.”

Giving the kitchen counter one last swipe with the towel four hours later, Bobby glanced into the living room and saw Sam watching the baseball game. The screen door was open and he stepped out onto the porch, closing the house door behind him for privacy.

Dean glanced up quickly, “Sorry. Do you want me to come in?”

He shook his head, sitting down on the outdoor sofa. “Nope, Sam is watching the game … the Twins are actually winning for a change and I was curious where you had gotten off to.”

He smiled, “Just … thinking. I can’t believe school starts in a couple of days.”

Bobby nodded, “Yep. How was your summer?”

Dean flashed him a quick smile, “Good, nice … Sam had a great summer and I like my job with Glenn. That will go until middle of October and it’s a lot of fun.” He sighed, settling back into the cushions, “I might look for something else but …” Glancing over he said, “I might not, if that’s OK. Money wise, I mean.”

“You have plenty of money,” he confirmed, moving his arm and pulling the younger man closer. “I’ve told you that and we’ve looked at the accounts and I’m happy to do it again. Your tuition is free and what you and your brother spend is barely exceeding the interest earned, Dean. You’re fine, I promise.” Letting the words sink in, he said, “Get a job if you want but … I sort of feel that you have enough on your plate with Sam right now and school.”

He took a deep breath and nodded, “Good. I might do that … trying to juggle everything …” He sighed slightly before shaking his head, “I mean, I can do it and it’s not a problem if I need to.”

“I know, but you don’t,” Bobby said softly. “You manage everything perfectly.”

Dean snorted, shaking his head, “You say that only because you don’t know how often I’ve screwed up but I’m trying.” 

Ruffling the younger man’s hair, Bobby laughed softly as Dean tried to jerk away, “You keep saying that, kid, but I think you’re the only one who thinks that. Your brother thinks you’re perfect and I think you’re damn good and I’m determined to get you to see that, too.”

He snorted but didn’t say anything.

“Slowly but surely, we’ll get there,” Bobby confirmed, pulling him closer as he let the silence settle over them.

“This time last year I thought everything was perfect,” he said quietly several long minutes later. “I can’t stop myself from looking at the calendar and thinking … what was going on this time last year.” He shifted slightly closer to the older man before whispering, “Sam was excited about school, I was so happy for him because Dad said we were going to be here for a while and I was happy about that, too. It was going to be cool living here again with you, like we did before.” Twisting slightly, he asked quietly, “You know what I thought was really going on?”

“What?” Bobby asked.

“I thought that Dad was maybe getting out,” he said after a slight hesitation, focusing his attention back to the darkening yard. “I knew he was tired and I thought, sort of, that maybe he was thinking about settling down, maybe doing what you do … research and all. I thought he had decided to do it now so I’d actually graduate from a school I had really attended and not just … like gone to for two months.” He sighed again, “I thought maybe he thought about … that after I suggested dropping out in May and just getting my GED.”

He nodded, “I can see that and that was a good guess and I think your dad would have been good at research and helping other hunters.” Giving him a gentle squeeze, he said, “And you were partially right, Dean. He wanted you and Sam some place safe and he wanted you to have this stability and to be here. He cared enough to stop in plenty of time for him to get things set up, you boys settled, and for you three to have time together.”

“Yeah,” he said softly before falling silent again. “When did you stop … like marking time after your wife died? Like the last time you did this or what you were doing at such and such time?”

Kissing his hair, Bobby sighed, “It was several years, kid but it got better every year. I promise, it gets better.”

“So, this time next year, maybe I won’t be thinking like …. Dad told us in three weeks or this time last year, I was happy because I was clueless.”

Deciding not to read too much into the younger man’s words, he simply nodded, “Right. This time next year, you’ll probably feel September looming but it won’t be as bad as this year. November will be tough again but by the third year, it will be a little easier. You’ve got your whole life ahead of you and you’ll miss him every year but it’ll get better, easier, I promise.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything.

Letting the silence settle back over them, Bobby quietly hugged him close and thought back to the dark months and years after Karen’s death and the struggle to get through those days. Hunting had kept him sane, the friendships he had developed had gotten him through, and the mission to help others and kill monsters had given him a new, albeit unusual, purpose. And then years later, long after he had made peace with his life, two young kids stumbled into his life, trailing their driven father, and wormed their way in and upended his life in the most wonderful way possible.

“The Twins blew it,” Sam said with a sigh, pushing open the screen door and shaking his head. “They were up and then bam … blew it!”

Dean laughed, sitting up slightly, happy for the somber mood he was feeling to be broken. “You should know better than to get your hopes up, Sammy.”

He grinned, moving around and flopping down on the sofa next to his brother and putting his feet up on the table next to Dean’s. “Maybe we should root for the Rockies since we say we’re from Colorado.”

Bobby laughed, “At least I think they at least still have a chance this year. Are the Twins mathematically eliminated already?”

Sam laughed, nodding, “Probably or close to it.” He sighed, looking out into the darkness before twisting and saying, “Remember sitting out here this Spring and watching the comet, Bobby? That was cool!”

He grinned, “It was very cool. 

"I wonder if we’ll get to see another comet like that again?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” Bobby said, shaking his head. “We can do some research together. I’ll show you some neat text about comets and see what they say.”

He sighed, leaning against Dean, saying, “Yeah, that would be fun.”

Giving his brother a gentle hug, Dean sighed and settled against Bobby as he said, “I can’t believe you’re starting high school, squirt, in like two days.”

Sam giggled, “And you’re starting college! That’s crazy.”

Bobby laughed, hugging Dean with one hand and reaching over to ruffle Sam’s hair, “You boys make me feel old.”

Sam laughed again, “That’s because you are old, Bobby.”

Dean laughed at the older man’s protest. “But that’s OK, we love you anyway, Uncle Bobby.”

Giggling, Sam twisted around and smiled, “Yep, we love you, Uncle Bobby.”

He laughed, “Idjits.” 

Twisting slightly, Dean smiled at him. 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it. The next story will pick up basically where this leaves off with the joys of college and high school!


End file.
